Separate is Not Equal: Why Sex/Gender Categories in Sport Should be Eliminated

• In Event: 483 - Section on Sex and Gender Paper Session. The Politics of Bodies and Embodiment: Gender and Sports (co-sponsored with the Section on Body and Embodiment)

Abstract

This paper examines Title IX legislation and the Brown vs. Board of Education decision to address the issue of gender segregation in sport. By applying the legal language, intention, and logic of the Brown decision in terms of racial segregation to that of gender segregation in the case of Title IX, it is argued that “separate but equal” is not achievable or desirable in sports contexts and therefore should be abandoned in favor of gender integration. Benefits of gender integration in sport and recommendation for how to initiate gender integration in sport are also discussed.

Authors

• Adrienne N. Milner, University of Alabama-Birmingham

• Jomills Henry Braddock, University of Miami