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Let Me Play : The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America
by Karen Blumenthal
Reviewed by Liz Burns, A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
I'm not a sports girl. Yet here I am, reviewing a book about sports. Before 1972, the opportunity for girls to play sports,
especially organized sports in school, was extremely limited. Donna de Varona, an Olympic medal winner in 1964, did not
have the ability to pursue her sport into college because of the lack of university level swimming programs or scholarships.
Title IX was passed in 1972, prohibiting sex discrimination in education. That one law changed everything, resulting in
today's society, where the idea that a girl wouldn't be playing soccer or able to go college on a sports scholarship is
unheard of. How did that become possible? Let Me Play is a fascinating look at a cultural shift in how society views girls
and sports, from girl as observer to girl as participant.
What fascinated me was not so much the sports and the athletes. Rather, it was that this book made the Law come alive. I
used to be a lawyer; I didn't leave the Law. I left the lifestyle of the lawyer. The Law was, and remains, exciting,
dynamic, living, breathing, sometimes misused, and often misunderstood. I love that in Law, as in literature, words have
meaning. Words are important. Words change lives. Not since Schoolhouse Rock's "I'm Just A Bill" has the legislative
process been so exciting and alive.
What is Title IX, anyway? Who fought to make it happen? How did they decide on what to include, and what those words meant?
And after it was made into a law—what did that mean to schools? If a football team is bringing in $5 million in revenue
compared to a girl's softball team's $100,000, is it really discrimination to say that the football team gets better funding
and support and uniforms? (For the record, I made up that example.)
Laws aren't stagnant; they are living, growing, evolving things. In Let Me Play, what is important is how those laws get
made, and how those laws get enforced, and how a regular person, who isn't even thinking about that law, or even knows about
it, is affected. This is a great "behind the scenes" look at how laws are made, and how politicians work. I'm not sure if
Let Me Play… will influence anyone to play soccer or basketball, but I'm sure it will make her appreciate
the opportunity to do so if she wishes. And, I do think Let Me Play may make someone fall for the Law and the Political Process, to
realize that changes can be made and to want to make those changes.
Let Me Play : The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America, by Karen Blumenthal.
Atheneum, 2005. ISBN: 0-6898-5957-0.
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