Regular readers by now are aware of Title IX, a statute that is supposed to prevent sex discrimination in educational institutes. It originally related to opportunities for women in college sports. For example, if a school had a men’s basketball team, it couldn’t refuse women a basketball team.
Over the years, however, the statute quickly evolved. In one early 90s lawsuit – against Brown University – activists argued that it wasn’t enough for the school to provide women with equal or more sports opportunities than men; the school was also responsible for generating women’s interests in sports. As Jessica Gavora wrote while looking back at the case in 2015: “In effect the ruling said that Brown women didn’t know what they wanted. They only thought they were dancers or actors or musicians. They had to be taught that they were really athletes. They didn’t know what was good for them but the government did.”
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