After reading this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:

• Identify the major reasons why there have been dramatic increases in sport participation rates among women of all ages over the past 3 decades.
• Identify the reasons people should be cautious when predicting future sport participation increases among girls and women.
• Describe the extent to which gender inequities continue to exist in connection with
• sport participation opportunities.
• support for athletes.
• jobs for women in coaching and administration.
• Identify the legal definitions of gender equity as specified in connection with Title IX in schools receiving support from the federal government in the United States.
• Explain the major strategies that are effective in promoting gender equity in sports and sport organizations.
• Explain why gender equity is an important issue for both women and men, and why many women athletes resist acting as agents of change when it comes to gender relations in sports.
• Describe the two-category gender classification system, and explain how it influences the "logic" used by many people when they define masculinity and femininity.
• Explain how sports have served as sites for the celebration of dominant forms of masculinity and why girls and women often have been defined as invaders in the realm of sports.
• Explain the ways in which both cheerleading and women’s bodybuilding either reproduce or transform dominant ideas about femininity in society.
• Identify the major challenges faced by gay men and lesbians in sports today.
• Identify the major strategies that might be used in changing ideology and culture so that gender equity might be achieved in sports.