For the second week in a row, ESPN returns to a milestone. The passing of the federal Title IX Education Act happened about 50 years ago, changing America.
For many, Title IX is about the increased role of women in sport. But sports aren’t mentioned in the 37-word Title IX that provides the title for the four-part series airing over the next two Tuesdays on ESPN. 37 Words (7 p.m. and 8 p.m.) recalls that the bill was signed to ensure that federal funding for education would not be determined by gender.
This not only ensured equal or adequate funding for women’s sports in public institutions, but paved the way for equal educational opportunity for women. Above all, it resulted in an immediate and explosive shift in expectations.
As the 37-word first hour makes clear, before Title IX, career expectations for women were low. Until the 1960s, less than 5% of medical and law students were women. Young women who wanted to go to college had to graduate from Ms. and settle down to have children.
Within a decade, that had changed dramatically, with female graduate enrollment increasing exponentially. This seismic shift was reflected on the playing field. Prior to Title IX, in the 1971–72 school year, the number of high school female athletes was 294,015. In the 2009–10 school year , there were 3,127,637. That’s more than tenfold.
The societal impact of this surge cannot be underestimated. Women who were once on the sidelines began to form and lead teams and learned skills and behaviors that would be reflected in business management and political fields.
The 92nd Congress (1971-72) which passed Title IX had 15 female members (two senators and 13 House members). Some of them were widows serving their late husband’s sentences. The current Congress (the 117th) has 146 female members, another tenfold increase. There’s an old British saying that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playgrounds of Eton. It is almost certain that the level playing field created by Title IX has earned many women a place at the tables of power and will one day place a woman in the Oval Office.
There is no one I know who is more likely to mention Title IX or announce its impact than my niece. Born in the mid-1980s, she continued to row on her varsity team and is now a wife and mother as well as a Major in the United States Army. The passage of Title IX was critical to his accomplishments. Only 37 words.
Along the same lines, Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (9 p.m., HBO) includes a profile of Chris Evert, whose tennis stardom coincided with the early years of Title IX. At her peak, she won at least one Grand Slam event for 13 consecutive years.
TONIGHT OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
A morning show host is murdered in her home on the FBI (7 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
Murder in Wine Country on FBI: International (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
A drug kingpin escapes on FBI: Most Wanted (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
A big piece of searing hype. Exclusively Elvis: A Special Edition of 20/20 (9 p.m., ABC) might have something to do with the premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s new biopic on Friday.
A fever dream of a series about the role of an army of warrior witches in the military history of the Americas, Motherland: Fort Salem (9 p.m., Freeform, TV-14) enters its third season.
An IRS auditor (Nancy Sinatra) wants to audit a famous race car driver (Elvis Presley), but first she has to catch him in the 1968 musical Speedway (5:15 p.m., TCM, TV-PG). Songs include Sinatra’s solo Your Groovy Self, written by Lee Hazlewood. Elvis-ology students can easily confuse this movie with Spinout (1966), but this Elvis race car movie stars Shelley Fabares of Donna Reed Show fame.
Americas Got Talent (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Crime Scene Kitchen (7 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … Holey Moley (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Lois holds a vigil on Superman & Lois (7 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … MasterChef: Junior Edition (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … The Chase (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).. A Rescue Mission on Tom Swift (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Dancing With Myself (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
Jimmy Fallon hosts Kim Kardashian, Hannah Einbinder, Mo Willems and Paris Jackson on The Tonight Show (10:34 p.m., NBC)… Elliot Page, Mason Hereford and Ralph Alexander visit Late Night With Seth Meyers (11:37 p.m., NBC).
Okay, that was weird. The least anticipated story of the week was the scandal involving Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) and When Calls the Heart star Lori Loughlin (7 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark, TV-G), in a bribery/deception plot to obtain their respective daughters. in elite universities.
This is obviously an ongoing case, and all parties must have their say, or one day, in court. But the motivation at the center of this story is worth discussing. It implies an overwhelming need to do anything to get children into elite schools. As if anything less was unthinkable.
Television plays a significant role in this insecurity. I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to describe an ABC legal drama where every character hails from the most exclusive Ivy and spends most of the pilot bragging about it.
There was a time, not too long ago, when John Grisham wrote best-selling books about barely credentialed young lawyers from anonymous institutions who took on impossible cases against big corporations and ultimately won. And I got the girl, to boot.
Thus, the neurotic obsession of our present age with elitism and inequality is hardly entrenched.
If anything comes of this sordid affair, it’s an appreciation that shoddy efforts at snobbery are still essentially pathetic. Or on classic TV, comedy. Looking at Gilligans Island, we identified with Mary Ann and the Skipper, and took pity on the millionaire and his wife.
CNN debuts the four-hour documentary Tricky Dick (8 p.m., Sunday), chronicling the life and times of Richard Nixon’s public career, which spanned decades from the dawn of the Cold War through the Clinton years.
An anxious new mother joins a solidarity and support group, only to find he has darker plans on his agenda in 2019’s clash Mommy Group Murder (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
The Thunder and Warriors meet in NBA action (7:30 p.m., ABC).
A former kidnapper returns to form on Ransom (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
Program on 60 Minutes (6 p.m., CBS): the employees of the embassies in China and Cuba complain of mysterious ailments; AOL founder Steve Case and his plans to invest in the future of neglected small towns in America; a visit to Monaco.
The duels begin on World of Dance (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
Auditions continue on American Idol (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
Lex Luthor is free on Supergirl (7 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
Mr. Wednesday prepares for battle on American Gods (7 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
After discovering her royal lineage, an adopted 10-year-old girl becomes a little bully in 2019’s clash Mommys Little Princess (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
A Secret Room Holds Dangers on Charmed (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
Hidden secrets revealed on The Walking Dead (8 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
A new trial continues on The Case Against Adnan Syed (8 p.m., HBO, TV-14).
Ax is determined to destroy Taylor in the fourth-season premiere of Billions (8 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
Ulysses pursues a conspiracy theory on Now Apocalypse (8 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
Unsung (8 p.m., TVONE) profiles the Jets.
Peaceful openings on Madam Secretary (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
The tension mounts on Good Girls (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
Mos’ ​​past comes to light on Black Monday (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
St. Patrick’s Day inspires many traditions. Syfy offers a marathon of Leprechaun movies, from Leprechaun 5: In the Hood (Saturday 4 p.m., TV-14) to Leprechaun 2 (8 p.m.). TCM takes the traditional approach, dumping Technicolor blarney from director John Fords 1952 romance The Quiet Man (7 p.m. Sunday, TV-PG).
Dateline (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … NBA Countdown (7 p.m., ABC) … Kids Are Fine on MasterChef (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … 48 Hours (9 p.m., CBS) … A vintage portion of Saturday Night Live (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
A visit from an old friend inspires Miles in God Friended Me (7 p.m., CBS, TV-PG)… Homer can’t leave Barth’s virtual kingdom in The Simpsons (7 p.m., Fox, TV-14). .. Empathy for All Things on Bobs Burgers (7:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
A walk down the aisle on NCIS: Los Angeles (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14)… On two episodes of Family Guy (Fox, TV-14), Megs Winter Olympics (8 p.m.), fighting over a dowager (8:30 p.m. , r)…Aches on Shark Tank (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
