Diane Gill (1986) pointed out that gender and social diversity are relatively new topics addressed within sport and exercise psychology because it is only within the past three or four decades that an understanding of the interests of women in amateur and professional sports has become apparent. Gill (1986) says that traditionally, the term "athlete" automatically meant "male" and that the relatively small number of women who are professional athletes before the 1970s tended to be focused in individual sports like tennis and golf
At issue in this report is a discussion of how, despite years of progress toward gender equality in athletics, women continue to encounter sexist discriminatory practices that impact on their participation in sports. The primary thrust of the report is on amateur or collegiate or sporting events where competition for limited resources between male and female sports is intense (Davis, 2002).
Gill (1986) asserts that both sport and exercise remain highly gendered contexts. This is particularly true with respect to team sports which are seen as the general if not exclusive purview of male athletes. Gill (1986) suggests that many false attributions regarding the characteristics of female athletes have become part of the conventional wisdom. Such women are considered to be more androgynous than feminine, to be oriented toward aggressive activities, and in some instances to be representative of lesbian sexual stereotypes. Gill (1986) believes that these and other stereotypes regarding women athletes continue to mitigate against equality and parity for these competitors.
Michelle Davis (2002) reported that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has become the mechanism by means of which public institutions have been compelled to provide resources for women's sports. Under Title IX, public schools are required to eliminate sex discrimination in any educational program or activity tha...