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There has been a dynamic and continuing growth of women's sports since the late 1960s. Triathlons, marathons, soccer, aerobics, weightlifting, rugby, skiing, two professional basketball leagues (although one folded in late 1998), athletic clubs, and even cheerleading are among the many sports available to women, none of which existed a century ago and few of which existed a generation earlier. The passing of the Educational Act of 1972, specifically Title IX has paved the way for women in sports. For today’s young women role models are available and willing to promote not only their sport but also their gender. In the late 1960s the modern feminist movement, a youth culture, and other sources of social unrest unsettled both the nation as a whole and the sports world in particular. Billie Jean King defied international tennis tradition and authorities at Wimbledon in 1968, when she demanded an end to under-the-table payments; then she defeated another symbol of patriarchy, Bobby Riggs, on the court in 1973. In between King's two strikes for honesty and women, she helped organize the first of several early 1970s professional leagues for women. King symbolized the commencement of contemporary women's revolution in sports. (1) In the early 1980’s a talented young, Czech immigrant to the United States took the women’s tennis world by storm. Martina Navratilova lost only six matches from 1982 to 1984, and by 1985 had accumulated 8.5 million dollars in winnings, more than any other player in sports history. Navratilova symbolized the advances women had made in the athletic world and in traditionally male activities involving money and power. (2) As Navratilova and other female athletes gained celebrity status, many observers heralded their accomplishments as proof that modern women had finally cast off the physical and psychological shackles of the past.
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