Nicolina Albano

JRP Outline
Womens Sports
I. Background Information: The ongoing struggle for equality, as well as advancements in
womens sports are products of the feminism and civil rights movements throughout history and
today.
A. Sports and Human Nature Quote (Hook) (card)
B. larger context of feminist and civil rights movement
1. first wave feminism (card)
2. second wave feminism (card)
3. civil rights movement (card)
4. summary/ third wave (card)
C. Early beginnings and achievements in women's sports
1. First Olympics with women (card)
2. early beginnings of women's sports (card)
3. all-American girls baseball league (card)
4. LGPA (card)
5. WNBA (card)
D. Thesis: Societal views towards women and normal gender roles impact and shape all areas of
female athletics.
II. society's view of women's sports in the early history: In the early 20th century, when
women were just starting to participate in athletics, there was a lot of controversy about this new
phenomenon and society had many of question and an extremely different perspective than
today.
A. summary of primary doc by Sargent (1912)- man's view (card)
1. New generation of women, not in kitchen (1912) (card)
2. biology of men and women=both need exercise but different types
(card)
3. sexes initially the same but diverged over time b/c of society (card)
4. women cannot handle too much activity (card)
5. women can play everything except these sports (card)
6. modifications made for women (card)
7. Yes sports are making girls more masculine (card)
B. background/ context for doc (1917)- woman's perspective-informative doc (card)

1.
2.
3.
4.

broadening athletics for women (card)

what to wear (card)
practice (card)
be careful (card)

III. Title IX: A major turning point in womens sports came with the Title IX legislation in 1972.
A. basis and purpose of Title IX legislation (2 cards)
1.
context of title IX (card)
2. other areas that title IX protects (card)
B. opposition to Title IX (card) and overcoming it (card)
C. social effects of Title XI (card)
1. Title IX stat 1998 (card)
2. more participation and opportunity now than ever before (card)
IV. Recent progress within women's sports: Recent achievements in all areas of womens
sports have helped to change and revolutionize female athletics, and build a positive outlook on
the future.
A. progress
1. Tennis has closed the gender pay gap (card)
2. Despite this: still no women in positions of power in tennis (card)
3. summer 2015 as a turning point in women's sports (card)
4. women's world cup 2015 and impact (card)
5. Serena Williams (card)
6. Ronda Rousey (card)
7. Evolution in WWE (card)
8. first women's professional hockey league set to start in 2015 in U.S.
(card)
B. looking forward
1.
2.
3.
4.

New opportunities for hockey (card)

positive about future of the hockey league (card)
future of sports (card)
the lesson learned from summer 2015 (card)

V. major setback=money: Despite the recent advancements in womens sports money and the
lack thereof, is a huge setback for further advancement.

A. not enough money involved in leagues; are they viable? (card)

1. Canadian hockey league cannot pay yet (card)
2. Players cannot make a living (card)
B. potential is there for more financial growth; occasional media spur: 1996 (card)
VI. sexualization of female athletes: Another challenge that female athletes face is extreme
sexualization, in the media and in their respective sports.
1. sexism in media (card)
2. sports illustrated (card)
3. FIFA suggests more provocative clothes (card)
4. men suggest provocative clothing to gain popularity (card)

VII. positive social progress/ changing views: The progression and expansion sports among
girls of all ages has made positive changes in the lives of these athletes, their mentality, and the
mentality of society.
1. sports help teen girls with confidence (card)
2. pos results later in life (card)
3. role models and potential (card)
4. women now have different mindset on competition (card)
5. changes view of women by society (card)
6. more changes b/c of Title IX: parents and kids (card)

IX. women's sports in the media: Womens athletics are often forgotten about and
misrepresented in the media.
A. very little coverage: female athletes "invisible" (card)
1. barely any coverage and has been dropping (card)
2. media coverage is hard if no given no chance (card)
3. "vicious cycle" quote (card)
4. media coverage=proportional (card)
5. 96 Olympics geared towards women (card)
B. misrepresentation/bad coverage: Often womens sports are overlooked and misrepresented
due to the ignorance of most in the news industry.
1. "inertia" quote (card)
2. mistake in broadcast shows under-coverage (card)
3. second mistake (card)
4. two mistakes (card)

X. male dominated programs across the board: The under representation of women extends to
all areas of media and society, not just sports, and this ultimately demonstrates and supports male
dominance and unjust cultural norms.
1. men dominate all media coverage (card)
2. extends to entertainment media as well (card)
3. caused by lack of women in positions of power (card)
4. lack of women in power positions stats (card)
5. no female voices heard (card)
6. a "non-image" is important (card)
7. supports unjust cultural norms (card)