Title IX

My 4th grader plays an aggressive mid-field. She will take a ball from girls twice her size. She can switch direction and run full out and then switch direction again. She takes hits to the face and laughs. She and her friends pile on each other and hug and wrap their arms and legs around each other in an easy camaraderie. The girls make the soccer practice field a riot of bright colors and movement. They are aggressive one minute and affectionate the next. They do an exercise where they weave their arms around each others waists and make a wall of girls kicking brightly colored balls. They pile on each other at the end of practice. I envy their comfort with their bodies and the bodies of the other girls. They are tiny athletes and friends. I stand at the top of the hill with the other moms after practice, and they swarm towards us kicking their balls. My own soccer player runs to me with orange braids flapping as she kicks her ball up the hill. I sidle over and slip my foot in to take the ball and she squeals and chases me and takes the ball back. She is wearing a denim skirt with silver sequins on it to play soccer. She is wearing tie died socks over her shin guards and cleats. She is wearing a smile. She is not unusual. I took a whole series of photos of girl soccer players last year - riotous sock colors, ponchos that match the jerseys, teams who all wore the same hairstyle or all wore the same color scrunchie.

Girls are not boys. We can make laws that make sports opportunities equal (for which I am very grateful), but the experience is different. I read studies about the academic and social success of girls who are active in sports. And I can see it in the confidence and relationships that build on the soccer field. It lets her be a friend and an agressor and a strategist. It lets her pair sequins with shin guards.