Women and Sports

Less than 35 years ago, a mere four percent of high school girls played on a varsity sports team. Now, thanks to Title IX, the civil rights law guaranteeing equal funding to female athletics, that number is considerably higher. With the high profile launch of the WNBA, the 1999 World Cup victory of the U.S. women's national soccer team, and the media coverage of athletes such as the tennis champ Williams sisters (not to mention the…um…notorious Fox TV boxing match between Tonya Harding and Paula Jones), women's sports today enjoy a dramatic increase in participation and awareness. This program in the Discovery Channel's Assignment Discovery series explores these historic changes, looks at the physiological differences between male and female athletes, and discusses the benefits of sports in women's lives through interviews, archival footage, and profiles of current women's sports stars. Entertaining and informative, this cross-disciplinary (sports, science, history, gender issues) overview of women in sports is recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (E. Gieschen)