Growing acceptance for female athletes
Dorrance reflects on the accelerating success of women's athletics. The UNC women's soccer team found acceptance in large part because of its dominance, but female athletes everywhere are gaining acceptance because of the dissolution of stigmas, Dorrance thinks.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Anson Dorrance, June 11, 1991. Interview L-0054. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- MARY JO FESTLE:
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Have you seen a lot of changes in how the women's programs are
treated?
- ANSON DORRANCE:
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Yes, obviously, because of longevity, all women's programs are
treated very well and because of our success our budgets have become
larger and larger, our facilities better and better and the media
attention greater and greater. So these are certainly very positive
steps for women in athletics. I think, obviously, one factor in all this
is the fact that we've been successful. But also, I think
women's athletics is becoming more and more accepted and
it's becoming more and more attended, the events are. I think
in the old days, Title Nine was one of the motivating forces in
establishing women's athletics in college and maybe
that's had a top down effect on girls in high school
athletics. Because what's happening now is in the old days,
it was so rare to find a woman that really wanted to be a successful
athlete and now you find them in each sport. And the opportunities are
available for them and they are encouraged by everyone.
There's not as much of a negative stigma and if there is a
stigma, it's a very, very understated undercurrent. And
frankly, the negative stigmas really have to do with sexual orientation
now and not the athletic participation itself. And I think after
women's athletics clears that stigma, it will be just like
the men.