37 Words: Title IX and fifty years of fighting sex discrimination by Sherry Boschert (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: 37 Words: Title IX and fifty years of fighting sex discrimination by Sherry Boschert Domale Dube Keys Boschert, Sherry. 37 Words: Title IX and fifty years of fighting sex discrimination. New York: The New Press, 2022. pp. 400. $26.09 (hardcover). ISBN: 1620975831. Title IX carries a singular meaning for many scholars, students, and people to whom it applies: it is known as the law that either governs gender equality in sports, prohibits peer-peer sexual violence, or regulates gender discrimination in employment (Rhoden, 2012). Rarely does it mean all three. Most books on the topic of Title IX reflect this tendency to focus on one particular aspect of the legislation which ultimately discourages a deeper understanding of its varied goals. Current volumes on Title IX that do attempt such wide coverage assume the form of government sources, traditional textbooks or multivolume caselaw texts and thus are mostly addressed to a limited readership (United States Department of Justice, 2012). In 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination, Sherry Boschert celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX by examining its evolution in multiple domains over the last half century. In inviting journalistic prose, Boschert chronicles the long road to the current iteration of the legislation. Organized chronologically, the book serves as an enhanced timeline of major people and events in the history of Title IX, with occasional pauses to zero-in on the narratives of Bernice Sandler, a lead activist for the legislation, and other figures. In doing so, Boschert provides an expansive yet intimate account of key figures, feminist organizations, government and legal interventions, as well as nonviolent actions that helped improve the legislation and its implementation. Chapters 1–4 emphasize Bernice Sandler’s role in the development and passage of Title IX. After discovering President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive [End Page 183] Order No. 11375, which prohibits sex discrimination by federal contractors, Sandler connected with the U.S. Department of Labor and other feminist organizations to draft her first complaint against the University of Maryland and other institutions that refused to hire her and numerous qualified women. Chapter 3 examines the road to the passage of Title IX in 1972 and discusses the congressional subcommittee hearing for an earlier version of the bill and key figures of which include Rep. Edith Green of Oregon and Rep. Patsy Mink of Hawaii alongside Sandler and the human rights activist Pauli Murray, who all testified in support of the bill. Chapters 5 through 10 introduce two more supporting characters to the narrative of Title IX: Pamela Price and Diane Milutinovich. Price, a Black woman who was propositioned by a professor at Yale University in 1976, became the lead plaintiff in Price v. Yale, the case that helped to establish that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and thereby subject to Title IX. Boschert then reveals how the Ronald Reagan administration set into action an avalanche of attacks against civil rights and anti-discrimination measures that had lasting effects in subsequent presidential administrations. Chapter 8 focuses on court cases pertaining to sexual assault and harassment that determined appropriate causes of action under Title IX, including the two Supreme court cases, Gebser and Davis, the latter of which featured a young Black girl’s experience of peer-peer sexual harrassment. Chapters 9 and 10 shift to issues in athletics by narrating the struggle for Title IX implementation at Fresno State, led by Diane Milutinovich, in the areas of employment discrimination and sexual harassment of players, and explaining how these efforts culminated in three women coaches suing and winning lawsuits against the institution. In Chapters 11 through 15, Boschert argues that newer Title IX activists have played a critical role in the issue in more recent decades. This section begins with the story of Wagatwe Wanjuki, a Black woman who experienced sexual assault at Tufts University and turned to activism after experiencing institutional betrayal. Boschert also returns to discuss Yale University, this time covering the activism of Alexandra Brodsky and other students beyond Yale whose actions led to the founding of Know Your IX, an organization that provides resources for student survivors across the nation. Chapter...