Struggles for Equality under the AIAW/NCAA Merger :: Women Athelets Sports

Struggles for Equality under the AIAW/NCAA Merger In any movement by a marginalized social group to gain equal rights and recognition, there are always several factions with differing opinions of the best way to achieve the common goal. There are those who choose to work within the rules of the system as is it is already structured by the dominant social group, and there are those who choose to create their own branch, rewriting the rules to represent their own philosophies. Historically, women's athletics have been led by the second camp; by women who demanded a philosophy of sport with a vision unique from that of men?s athletics. Women's athletics remained, much like women as a social group, in its own separate sphere, leading its own organizational structure. But as the women's sphere was de-mystified (Spears, 1978) in the mid twentieth century, autonomous organizational structures were absorbed under the umbrella of formerly exclusively male athletics. This is the case as illustrated by the merger of the AIAW and the NCAA. On the surface, it may appear that full official inclusion of women's athletics into the structure of the patriarchy would bring primarily positive results such as increased funding and greater access to facilities. However, the present, past, and future ramifications of the merger are tangled in a web of political and social significance that is not so simple to label as all positive or all negative for the advancement of women's athletics and Feminism at large. I will briefly trace the history that led to the creation of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as described by Joan Hult in 'The Story of Women's Athletics: Manipulating a Dream 1890-1985,' and then examine some of the pros and cons of the AIAW's 1981 merger with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Hult explains that in the era between 1890-1920, women physical educators were a tightly knit, dedicated group committed to a tradition of restricted competition, self-governance, and a feminine approach to individual and team sports. They believed that all girls and women should have the opportunity to participate and enjoy sport, not only the talented elite as in the competition-driven male philosophical structure (87). Play-days and sport-days with emphasis on team building games were a means of perpetuating an image of an ideal American female athlete: feminine, beautiful, strong, yet always 'aware of her delicate reproductive system' (89). Seventy-five years later, though much had changed, the AIAW still adhered to a more fundamental interpretation of the original philosophy of women's athletics. Struggles for Equality under the AIAW/NCAA Merger :: Women Athelets Sports Struggles for Equality under the AIAW/NCAA Merger In any movement by a marginalized social group to gain equal rights and recognition, there are always several factions with differing opinions of the best way to achieve the common goal. There are those who choose to work within the rules of the system as is it is already structured by the dominant social group, and there are those who choose to create their own branch, rewriting the rules to represent their own philosophies. Historically, women's athletics have been led by the second camp; by women who demanded a philosophy of sport with a vision unique from that of men?s athletics. Women's athletics remained, much like women as a social group, in its own separate sphere, leading its own organizational structure. But as the women's sphere was de-mystified (Spears, 1978) in the mid twentieth century, autonomous organizational structures were absorbed under the umbrella of formerly exclusively male athletics. This is the case as illustrated by the merger of the AIAW and the NCAA. On the surface, it may appear that full official inclusion of women's athletics into the structure of the patriarchy would bring primarily positive results such as increased funding and greater access to facilities. However, the present, past, and future ramifications of the merger are tangled in a web of political and social significance that is not so simple to label as all positive or all negative for the advancement of women's athletics and Feminism at large. I will briefly trace the history that led to the creation of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as described by Joan Hult in 'The Story of Women's Athletics: Manipulating a Dream 1890-1985,' and then examine some of the pros and cons of the AIAW's 1981 merger with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Hult explains that in the era between 1890-1920, women physical educators were a tightly knit, dedicated group committed to a tradition of restricted competition, self-governance, and a feminine approach to individual and team sports. They believed that all girls and women should have the opportunity to participate and enjoy sport, not only the talented elite as in the competition-driven male philosophical structure (87). Play-days and sport-days with emphasis on team building games were a means of perpetuating an image of an ideal American female athlete: feminine, beautiful, strong, yet always 'aware of her delicate reproductive system' (89). Seventy-five years later, though much had changed, the AIAW still adhered to a more fundamental interpretation of the original philosophy of women's athletics.