Unit 8 Women in Education, Sports and Media

Women in Education, Sports and MediaPre-reading questions1.Why is education a special area of concern in the American women’s movement?2.What’s the meaning of passage?3.What’s the overall improvement in women’s education, sports and media? State thoseimprovement specifics. Is there still some common problem in all of these fields? If any, what is it?4.What is the main idea of Paragraph 2 & 3 in Part I? How is it illustrated?5.What have been prejudices against women according to this text?EducationWhile the rights of women in the worlds of politics and work and the position of women in the family are the focus of the American women’s movement today, feministshave many other concerns which indicate the widespread effects that the movement has hadon contemporary life. One special area of concern is education. Many educators and parents believe that the elimination of sex bias in schools is absolutely necessary in order for women to achieve equality in American life. Until the middle of the 1970’s courses o pen toonly boys or only girls, auto mechanics or cooking, for example, were commonplace in schools. Physical education classes were usually segregated by sex, and more money was spent on sports for boys than for girls. Career advice often encouraged girls to train for such “acceptable” occupations as nurse or secretary or teacher, while boys were programmed forhigh-level mathematics and science courses and industrial arts classes.Some of this segregation has been eliminated as a result of Congress’ passage of TitleIX of the Education Amendments in 1972. Title IX prohibited sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal assistance. Enforcement of this measure has encouraged progress in moving toward equality in education. Most schools have made some changes in their admission and course politics, thus encouraging more women to pursue nontraditional careers. Sports participation by females has increased dramatically. Women’s studies programs have been instituted in schools and colleges.Yet, much inequality in the education of women still remains. Feminists point out that many textbooks in use still portray women in stereotyped ways and often texts fail to include any discussion of women’s history at all. They agree that realistic advice about career and educational goals is often unavailable to women. Too few women are in decision-making positions administrator, principal, superintendent of schools. Groupshave been organized to check on the enforcement of Title IX and to encourage the elimination of sexism in education. One such group, the Project on Equal Rights (PEER)has reported that few complaints filed about sex discrimination are actually investigated. “Hundreds of people have written to [the government] for help under Title IX,” says Ho llyKnox, director of PEER. “They couldn’t go into classes or couldn’t get jobs; they were denied equal pay or the chance to play sports solely because of their sex. [The government] turned its back on most of them. Citizens who had every right to expect government help were either ignored or offered relief when it no longer mattered.” Enforcement of Title IX is still a continuing problem.SportsThe American devotion to sports of all kinds had, until recently, been a devotion to activities which involved men and boys almost exclusively. Today, however, in part as a result of Title IX, but largely due to the efforts of such women as tennis champion Billie Jean King, women’s participation in sports is growing rapidly. This past decade has seen women’s tennis increased enormously in media attention and in prize money offered, which had always been considerably less than that offered to men. College and high schools have increased their support for women’s teams, and the number of spectators at women’s games has expanded greatly. Mothers and fathers now coach daughters as well as sons on Little League teams. Educators and industry leaders point out that in addition to building physical endurance and coordination skills, participation in sports activities teaches perseverance, teamwork, and leadership skills, all of which are important to young people in their future lives. One high school coach said, “Girls can get just as much benefit out of sports as boys can. The days when people thought it wasn’t feminine are gone.”MediaFeminists have also been active in attempting to eliminate sexism in all forms of media. Pointing out that magazines, books, television, radio, and movies have a tremendous influence on Americans, they have accused the media of portraying men and women in stereotyped ways. In 1900, Susan B. Anthony wrote:as long as newspapers and magazines are controlled by men, every women must write articles which are reflections of men’s ideas. As long as that continues, women's ideas and deepest convictions will never get before the public.Her Statement is still significant today when only about 5% of all policy-making positions in the media are held by females and even fewer by minority females. Although women have gained visibility on TV news programs in the past decade, experts point out that little attention is paid to news of women, who appear in less than 10% of the stories defined as “news.” They say that often news about women is segregated into special sections of newspapers or in special features on news programs. Feminists believe that “the reality of the lives most women lead does not come through on the screen or in the press.”Women’s groups have been particularly active in protesting the image of women presented by most advertisers. Women s till are used as decorations or “sex-objects” to sell a product; observers call this kind of advertising “sexploitation.” They say that many advertisements still reinforce stereotypes which say “women’s place is in the home,”“women are dependent,” and “women rarely make important decisions” (they are infrequently heard or seen selling such major products as automobiles). A vice-president of a large advertising firm stated:Many ads today have a superficial contemporary look. They feature a woman in jeans rather than with bouffant hair. But the implied attitude is still the same−they are presented as housewives or sex objects rather than serious workers.Men are also portrayed in stereotyped ways−aggressive, unemotional, strong.There have been changes, however, as feminists work to overcome this stereotyping. Advertisers are beginning to recognize the existence of millions of women who work outside the home and are gearing ads toward them. A recognition of the buying power of working women is evident in the emergence of several magazines for them−Ms., Working Women, Women Who Work, and Working Mother. Feminists are increasingly encouraged by such changes because they recognize the power of the media to shape roles and attitudes.Notes1. Billie Jean King（From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia）：Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 12 singles, 16 women's doubles, and 11 mixed doubles titles. King won the singles title at the inaugural WTA Tour Championships. King often represented the United States in the Federation Cup and the Wightman Cup. She was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, King was the United States' captain in the Federation Cup.King is an advocate for sexual equality. In 1973, at age 29, she won the so-called Battle of the Sexes tennis match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, and was the founder of the Women's Tennis Association, World TeamTennis (with former husband Larry King), and the Women's Sports Foundation.King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. The Fed Cup Award of Excellence was bestowed on King in 2010. In 1972, King was the joint winner, with John Wooden, of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award and was one of the Time Persons of the Year in 1975. King has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year lifetime achievement award. King was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1990, and in 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.2. Little League: The Little League Baseball World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children aged 11 to 13 years old. It was originally called the National Little League Tournament and was later renamed for the World Series in Major League Baseball. It was first held in 1947 and is held every August in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in theUnited States.feature: an item or article appearing regularly in a newspaper, magazine, etc.; a programme given special prominence on radio or television as indicated by attendant publicity特写（栏目）come through (on the screen): to emerge successfullyAfter-reading taskDoes there exist discrimination against women in China? Make a survey to find it if there’s any.References:1.Women and development in the Third World / D441.7/M7332.Women in the new Asia : from pain to power / D730.868/M4343.Women A feminist perspective 3rd ed. D440/W8724.Women in Class Society D777.786.8/S1285.Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives 2nd ed. D771.286.8/K59=26.Women's Quest for Economic Equality D447.12/F9517.Women and Child Care in China a firsthand report revised ed. D432.7/S5688.Women & public policy a revolution in progress D771.286.8/C7679.Women and Work An annual review Vol.2 D440/W872W:210.妇女、民族与女性主义C913.68/18。