Bayh fathered Title IX, inspired by Marvella

Former Senator Birch Bayh, the father of Title IX, died on March 14, 2019, marking the end of an era. His life shows us how people can break free from prejudices of their generation yet simultaneously remain trapped by them. It’s a humbling truth we all share, like it or not. Bayh is the last of the major players in Title IX’s creation to leave this earth. Rep. Edith Green, the mother and primary author of Title IX, died in 1987 without even a mention of Title IX in her obituary (though, to be fair, Title IX was decimated at […]

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Nameless sisterhood surrounds Title IX

If you’ve ever felt that you’re part of a nameless sisterhood, take a moment to appreciate Arvonne Fraser. As smart as they come, energetic, socially astute and politically savvy, Fraser was a doer and an organizer. She got things done. But she came out of a much more sexist era than today. Fraser blossomed in the feminist resurgence of the 1970s to become a strong organizer for women’s causes, including Title IX. Had she been born closer to today, Fraser likely would have been a Congresswoman or governor instead of the de facto campaign manager for her politician husband. Arvonne Fraser […]

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Facades change, but Title IX foundation remains

An aging federal building in Portland, Ore. that was rehabilitated to model modern environmental ethics honors a woman, coincidentally named Edith Green, who is best known for rehabbing federal laws to treat women ethically. Rep. Edith Louise Starrett Green (D-OR), a former teacher, birthed Title IX in 1971-1972 as chair of the Subcommittee on Education of the House Education and Labor Committee, giving girls and women equal opportunities in education. During her 10 terms from 1955 to 1974, Congress also felt her influence in the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a 1971 bill that outlawed sex discrimination in training doctors, nurses, […]

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Fomenting a feminist utopia can be fun

It’s one thing to change the course of history. It’s even rarer to know that’s what you’re doing, and perhaps rarer still to have fun doing it. While researching the people behind Title IX from its inception to today, I’ve vicariously enjoyed the camaraderie and sisterhood expressed along the way, from the “foremothers” of Title IX in the 1970s to the editors and contributors involved in the new book The Feminist Utopia Project (The Feminist Press 2015). Feminists involved in the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s worked on many projects and goals, some of which succeeded and some of which […]

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