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Archive for the ‘Money, Power & Politics’ Category

Does Sexy Mean Selling Out?

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

By Laura Pappano On The Issues Magazine has just published a special edition focusing on the 40th Anniversary of Title IX. If I've learned one thing from FairGameNews it's that the matter of how female athletes use and present their bodies reliably spurs heated -- though circular and predictable -- debate. ...

Women and weights: Don’t hate on me because I’m strong

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

  By Mariah Philips After an hour-long 6 a.m. lift, I can feel my hands shaking, residual adrenaline pumping through my veins. Sweat trickles down the side of my temple. My muscles are limp from exhaustion.  But the most prominent thing I feel when I walk out of the weight room is pride, ...

Obama Bracket Challenge: Not (it turns out) for men only

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

By Laura Pappano Sports are political. This year’s March Madness tournament has made that point even more clearly than usual as President Barack Obama’s campaign announced the “Obama Bracket Challenge:” Out pick the President and your name appears on the campaign website. While initial reports suggested a catch -- that the contest only applied to ...

A little playground help: Why can’t girls and boys play together?

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

By Katie Culver Have you been to recess lately? It just so happens that I have. Recently, I volunteered for recess duty at my son’s school. (He’s in first grade.) There is plenty to say about recess – including that at many schools there is simply not enough of it. Some low-performing schools ...

The quiet problem: Less attention, poor schedules for women’s play

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

                      By Laura Pappano This is a year of Title IX anniversary celebrations – it became law in 1972 – but even as conferences are convened (I was part of a terrific panel at Wellesley College on Monday), let’s not get weepy. It was not as if a switch flipped and everything changed. There ...

WPS suspension: Is this WUSA redux?

Monday, January 30th, 2012

By Laura Pappano On the heels of a compelling World Cup and on the eve of the 2012 Olympics, Women’s Professional Soccer announced today that they are suspending the 2012 season – with plans (maybe hopes?) to return to play in 2013. The news, for those who recall the end of WUSA ...

Four thing we learned in 2011 (that are worth remembering in 2012)

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

By Laura Pappano SOMETIMES YOU LOSE – AND IT’S OK. The Women’s World Cup championship game between the U.S. and Japan honored the rise and intensity of women’s soccer. The back story was compelling: The U.S. Team’s dramatic run-up with Abby Wambach’s YouTube-play-it-again (and again) headers versus the determination of a ...

Think fresh: Enough Merry (girl or boy) Christmas

Monday, December 19th, 2011

By Katie Culver I work – really hard – at avoiding gender stereotypes with kids so I decided to tick through what we had lined up for Christmas this year: there was the Wii for my son and an American Girl doll for my daughter. Err – I mean, a Wii ...

The IAAF has a Bunny Problem (not just in women’s marathoning)

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

By Laura Pappano The international track federation’s (IAAF) decision to nullify women’s marathon records from mixed-sex events reflects a crude double standard: Men can have rabbits; women can’t. The use of pacesetters is common in running, from short track distances to marathons. Boston and New York no longer allow pacesetters, but many ...

No more bullies: field hockey’s co-ed future

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

By Laura Pappano When my 6th grade son announced he was “following in the family tradition” and joined the school field hockey team, I was surprised. Turns out, he’s not alone, but is one of four boys on the team in a sport trying to grow it’s male following. Last spring as ...