HISTORY102 - Women's Sports
Women’s sports have been in the news a lot lately, especially the notoriety of Caitlin Clark in professional basketball and the upcoming Olympic Games. Today, with the overall participation of women in sports expanding, the growing popularity of women’s sports, and greatly increased media attention, it seemed like a good time to write about the history of women’s sports, and the long struggle for equal opportunity with men’s sports. After a short introduction, I will discuss the history of women’s sports in three eras: ancient civilizations; the early modern area, the 1800s to the 1970s - including non-competitive activities, the Olympic Games, and early college sports; and the late modern era, the 1970s to the present - including the Olympics; key (equal opportunity) legislation, Title IX, and professional women’s sports. I will conclude with a snapshot of women’s sports progress since Title IX, and an assessment of actions needed to completely close the gender gap. I will