"Women were brought up to believe that men were the answer. They were not even one of the questions." -Julian Barnes, English, novelist. .
In 1972, Congress passed the Educational Amendments. One section of this law, Title IX, prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including in athletics programs. Girls were not allowed to participate in sports prior to Title IX; therefore, Title IX was just the beginning of equal opportunities for men and women. However, inequalities between the sexes go back much further than just the 20th century. Throughout history, many things have changed but one thing remains the same: women have always remained on the sidelines. For my service-learning project, I coached a group of middle school girls in a recreational volleyball clinic. I observed inequalities between the sexes not only in sports, but also in "Fiero," "The Asheville Reader," and my personal experiences as a woman and an athlete. Women have been suppressed by men for centuries, and the paradigms and stereotypes that developed in the past and originated with the fall of Eve have lingered and are still present today. .
Despite one's religion, the Bible is a dominating force not only in America, but also in other Christian-dominated nations. From a Christian point of view, the beginning of humankind originated from God creating woman from man. In the Garden of Eden, God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit. However, Eve disobeyed God, ate the fruit and consequently, many critics deem Eve as responsible for the inferiority of women to men. From a historical and religious point of view, women were suppressed and inferior from the beginning of time. As stated in "Fiero," Chapter 13, "Christianity exalted the Virgin Mary as an object of veneration. Long revered as "the second Eve," Mary was honored as the woman who redeemed humankind from damnation and death, the twin consequences of the first Eve's disobedience.
