1、精品wordWomen in Education, Sports and MediaEducationWhile 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 womens movement today, feminists have many other concerns which indicate the widespread effects that the movement has

2、had on 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 1970s courses open to only boys or only girls, a

3、uto 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,

4、while boys were programmed for high-level mathematics and science courses and industrial arts classes.Some of this segregation has been eliminated as a result of Congress passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972. Title IX prohibited sex discrimination in educational programs receiving

5、 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 dra

6、matically. Womens 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 womens history at all

7、. They agree that realistic advice about career and educational goals is often unavailable to women. Too few women are in decision-making positions¾administrator, principal, superintendent of schools. Groups have been organized to check on the enforcement of Title IX and to encourage the elimin

8、ation 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 Holly Knox, director of PEER. “They couldnt go

9、into classes or couldnt 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

10、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 cham

11、pion Billie Jean King, womens participation in sports is growing rapidly. This past decade has seen womens tennis increased enormously in media attention and in prize money offered, which had always been considerably less than that offered men. College and high schools have increased their support f

12、or womens teams, and the number of spectators at womens 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 sport

13、s 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 wasnt feminine are gone.MediaFeminists have

14、 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

15、as newspapers and magazines are controlled by men, every women ¼must write article which are reflections of mens 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

16、-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

17、 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.Womens groups have been particularly active in protesting the i

18、mage of women presented by most advertisers. Women still 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 “womens place is in the home, “women are dependent, and

19、“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 same¾they are presented as housewive