Hextrum (2021) defines sport as any institutionalized competitive activity that involves relatively rigorous and complex physical exertion and skills by participants driven by external or internal motivation. As an institution, athletics holds an essential place in society. Since the 19th century, the dominant focus on college athletics has been on males. Necessary efforts have been put forth to promote inclusivity among all social groups, such as Title IX. This enactment prohibited any form of gender-based discrimination in learning institutions (Hextrum and Sethi, 2022). Despite this amendment, women are still underrepresented in college sports. Additionally, equity in athletics in college has focused more on sex and less on race. There is no denying that Title IX has benefited many black women, but it has disproportionately opened more doors for sports participation among white female students. Black female college athletes remain relatively underrepresented in most sports, especially in programs like soccer, tennis, and swimming (Simien, Arinze, and McGarry, 2019). This paper will address the existing underrepresentation based on the intersectionality of race, sex, and gender to understand the significant issues faced by minority female athletes.
Serious discussion and examination of women’s participation in college athletics received substantial attention in the early 1970s after legal and social forces led to the 1972 Title IX. This landmark law prohibits gender discrimination in public and private education programs receiving federal funds (Hextrum, 2020). The enactment has become the most effective strategy to facilitate increased access for women to athletic opportunities in their college lives. Despite the significant progress in women’s participation in college athletics, black female students are underrepresented, while full gender equity is yet to be achieved (Hextrum and Sethi, 2022). There is a long way to go in order to achieve full gender equality in college athletics participation. However, more attention and focus are required when examining the extent to which female students of color, most notably Latinos and African Americans, have benefited from Title IX relative to white female students. It is essential to focus on both gender and race equality in participation and access to college athletics. This intersectionality approach ensures that while Title IX’s contributions to women’s participation are examined, the double jeopardy status faced by minority women is recognized.
Intersectionality refers to overlapping various forms of discrimination or oppression, such as gender, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and class (Simien, Arinze, and McGarry, 2019). The combined effect of these multiple forms of discrimination is the production of distinct sets of consequences and perspectives among various social groups. To date, collegiate athletics remains a white and male-dominated field. Therefore, the intersectionality approach is essential in providing lenses to examine each marginalized identity, such as women and racial minorities, and also appropriate ways to investigate how multiple marginalized identities affect a female student’s experiences in collegiate athletics. Through the intersectionality approach, research has identified race, gender, high school opportunities, poor media coverage, absence of mentors, geography, and economies as some of the intersecting influences that have led to the underrepresentation of non-white students in women’s college athletics. Having adverse life experiences or a combination of marginalized identities can negatively impact a student’s sporting experience at the collegiate level (Hextrum, 2020). Also, emphasizing the valued identities and downplaying the undervalued identities may help the marginalized avoid some forms of discrimination or prejudice.
Two critical perspectives can be applied to understand women’s experiences with multiple marginalized identities in college sports: feminist perspective theory and black feminist standpoint theory. According to the feminist standpoint, the dissemination of knowledge is controlled and influenced by those in power. To this end, literature should inform society and provide objective knowledge of various phenomena. However, throughout history, women’s voice has been excluded from many social institutions in the United States, such as science and education (Kavoura and Kokkonen, 2021). Consequently, this has created the American patriarchal perspective. This undisputed worldview has perpetuated the notion that ultimate masculinity is the dominant culture in college athletics, favoring men and disadvantaging women. The feminist theory seeks to address the traditional norms and stereotypes by examining the experiences and perspectives of women to obtain knowledge and insights into the social world. Therefore, non-white students should be part and parcel of studies, experiments, and policy development processes intended to challenge the underrepresentation of women in college sports (Hextrum, 2021). However, the black feminist standpoint theory allows for an in-depth investigation of the intersecting discrimination that African American women experience. Black feminist theorists put the African American woman at the center of the matter by considering her perspective’s impact on shaping the discussion. This is necessary because recent data shows that Black female students are the most underrepresented in collegiate athletics (Simien, Arinze, and McGarry, 2019). This social group requires special attention since it has to balance being African American in a race-conscious society and being a woman in a sex-conscious society.
According to Hextrum and Sethi (2022), Title IX has mainly been beneficial through the increase in the representation of women and the offerings of female sports teams at collegiate levels. This has provided greater sports opportunities and development among female students. Nevertheless, recent findings suggest that this benefit has not been realized proportionately by the various races. Colleges dominated by white females offer a wider range of athletics options than what is available in predominantly black colleges. It is clear that female students of color are excluded and left behind from college athletics opportunities promoted by Title IX (Hextrum, 2021). Non-white students receive a narrower range of sports options at the high school level, which negatively affects the accessibility of college athletics and scholarship. Consequently, despite the attempts to comply with Title IX and implementation of the strategy to provide more relevant sports for women, it is all far-reaching regarding eradicating gender participation inequality and likely to erect barriers to participation or access to college athletics for minority women. For instance, when many colleges try to satisfy the second part of the enactment’s requirements, they simply add more women’s teams to the offered programs but barely consider the potential negative class and race effects. Sports diversity currently offered in college athletics disproportionately exclude non-white women athletes since most of the newly offered women’s teams tend to attract suburban, middle-class, white female students (Hextrum, 2020).
Recent research has offered several reasons for the underrepresentation of non-white women athletes in colleges. The main reason that Hextrum (2020) suggests is the limited offerings of growth sports at high schools attended by minority American students. The explanation given for this is that the urban non-white female athletes do not participate in the growth sports since their high school did not have the resources needed for those sports, such as space required for tracks, soccer fields, or water needed for swimming or rowing. Also, many African American students attend high schools without funds to finance such active sports programs. Therefore, there is a great need for qualified coaches who can train female athletes in those new fields. Currently, coaches are focused on recruiting the most competent students at the expense of diversity and inclusivity (Kavoura and Kokkonen, 2021). Since the minority students have no prior experience in growth sports, they are regarded as incompetent and thus difficult to recruit. Colleges should allow students to participate in any sports program they are interested in regardless of their experience or prior skills. However, there is insufficient empirical evidence to prove that this would help reduce the underrepresentation of women of color in college athletics.
The paper has explored the intersectionality of race and gender in college athletics. Collegiate athletics remains a white and male-dominated field. Therefore, the intersectionality approach is essential in providing lenses to examine each marginalized identity, such as women and racial minorities, and also appropriate ways to investigate how multiple marginalized identities affect a female student’s experiences in collegiate athletics. Particularly, African American female students are underrepresented due to limited offerings of growth sports at high schools attended by minority American students. The urban non-white female athletes do not participate in the growth sports since their high school did not have the resources needed for those sports. Also, high schools attended by many African American students lack funds to finance such active sports programs. Sports diversity currently offered in college athletics disproportionately exclude non-white women athletes since most of the newly offered women’s teams tend to attract suburban, middle-class, white female students.
References
Hextrum, K. (2020). Bigger, faster, stronger: How racist and sexist ideologies persist in college sports. Gender and Education, 32(8), 1053-1071.
Hextrum, K. (2021). Special admission: How college sports recruitment favors white suburban athletes. Rutgers University Press.
Hextrum, K., & Sethi, S. (2022). Title IX at 50: Legitimating state domination of women’s sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 57(5), 655-672.
Kavoura, A., & Kokkonen, M. (2021). What do we know about the sporting experiences of gender and sexual minority athletes and coaches? A scoping review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14(1), 1-27.
Simien, E. M., Arinze, N., & McGarry, J. (2019). A portrait of marginality in sport and education: Toward a theory of intersectionality and raced-gendered experiences for Black female college athletes. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 40(3), 409-427.
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