I Thought Only Fairy Tales Had Supernatural Power: A Radical Feminist Analysis of Title IX in Physical Education

Abstract

Utilizing liberal and radical feminist theory, this study critically investigated the lived status of Title IX in one fourth-grade physical education class (n = 21). Does Title IX emancipate female physicality, or does patriarchal gender differentiation continue to exclude females within the gender-integrated physical education setting? Data were collected over 14 weeks of fieldwork using nonparticipant observation, field notes, formal and informal interviews, and document analysis. Data analysis was structured by the indicator-concept model (Strauss, 1987). Results suggest that equal access to a common curriculum may not fully eliminate gender discrimination in physical education. A gender-based “we-they” dichotomy defines physical life in the context studied. This dichotomy was an ideologically driven, patriarchal distinction that largely awarded physical space to boys and situated girls as physically inferior. Feminist pedagogy is discussed as a strategy for extending gender-equitable teaching in physical education beyond the liberal definition of Title IX.