ABSTRACT
Still, women pressed ahead. “[The] issue of gender equity in sports is about female strength and independence,” feminist and author Gloria Steinem would later note, in words that echoed those of Senda Berenson and other early advocates of women’s sports. “Society’s acceptance of healthy, muscular women-usually most visible in women playing sports-may be one of the most intimate, visceral measures of change. An increase in our physical strength could have more impact on the daily lives of most women than the occasional role model in the boardroom or in the White House.” Young women eagerly seized on new opportunities. Between 1970 and 1997, the number of girls who played high school sports increased nearly tenfold, reaching nearly 2.5 million. In that same period, the number of women playing college sports approached 100,000. Tournaments and championships multiplied, and professional opportunities expanded.2
