Lily, 6th grade student, Pelham, NY
I’m 11 years old and have been playing sports my entire life. It has frustrated me that things aren’t always fair between boys and girls playing sports. Five years ago I found out about Title IX from my neighbor. That helped me understand that when it comes to athletics, thing aren’t fair for a lot of other people, too. Because I go to a private school, Title IX can’t help me, but I think that Title IX should be obeyed no matter what.
Two years ago, when I was in third grade, I had fun playing sports in P.E. with the boys. When I entered fourth grade, boys and girls were separated for gym and that’s when everything changed. The girls no longer played baseball like the boys. Instead we played softball with wiffle balls and big, plastic hollow orange bats. In football we used foam footballs, while the boys used smaller versions of real footballs. At least when the boys wrestled, we played field hockey – with real sticks and real field hockey balls. Still, every day the boys passed and laughed at us and called us babies because they thought we couldn't use real equipment.
When I asked my gym teachers why we weren’t using real equipment I was told it was “for safety reasons” or for “training.” I don’t see how if playing field hockey with real sticks and balls is safe, “safety reasons” would prevent us from using real bats and balls in softball or tossing a real football. I continued asking questions until my teacher got angry with me, and then I stopped. I told my mother what happened and she spoke with the assistant principal for the middle school I would be attending the next year. She was told that they could address it next year when I started middle school.
This year some things have changed for the better, but some changed for the worse. We are wrestling with the boys (thanks to the principal stepping in), but when we practice soccer, instead of practicing “throw ins,” we had to do the throwing motion and just hand the ball to our partner.
When we practiced passing, we were not allowed to pass from more than five feet away. I complained about this afterwards and my teacher got angry with me and threw a skate on the ground next to me and told me not to speak a word of this again. I cried but was quiet. When I talked to the school officials about this, I was told that I should let the adults handle it.
Every time we are treated fairly in P.E., it makes me think that the teachers think the girls are just as good and just as important as the boys. But when we’re treated differently it really bothers me. The other day in study hall I was looking through my past tests for the year. I'm a good student but noticed that when the P.E. units were different for the boys and girls, I got lower grades on my tests than I did on tests during units that were equal. This made me think that about how what happens in gym can affect other areas of my life, but I won’t let my gym class ruin my ability to enjoy playing baseball or other sports.
The little league in my town offers boys baseball and girls softball. Up until this year, I played little league softball, but it has been my dream since I have known what a baseball was, to be on the Mets. When I grow up I want to be a baseball player because I love the game, especially 3rd base. After I retire, or if I can’t play, I want to be a sportscaster or sports writer. So this year, I decided to try out for baseball instead of softball. I am the only girl in the league and I was scared and almost quit before the season started. But from the first day they have treated me like I was one of the team. I am not the worst player on the team and not the best either. At 11, I am one of the youngest on the team (most of the boys are 12 and 13). They cheer me on and help me when I make mistakes and that makes me feel like I’m just on the team, no different than the rest of them.
People have asked me, both in school, and during my little league baseball games why I don’t just “deal with it like all the other girls in the world?” Here’s my answer: I think everything should be equal and there should be no discrimination. That’s why I don’t just “deal with it.”
One thing I did when I was really angry at the way they treated me and my friends was that I got a group together and we set up a table and chairs outside our local supermarket and asked people to buy Save Title IX bracelets. A lot of people gave donations and some bought bracelets. We made $59.25 for Title IX and being able to do something productive to support the cause made me feel better too.
I support Title IX because I think girls can be just as good as boys in strength, intelligence and spirit.