The Revolution of Athleisure

I’m not an athlete, nor have I ever been, but this morning before I left for class, I put on a pair of grey athletic tights NZWU>QK\WZQI¼[;MKZM\;XWZ\IVLKPW[MWVMWN UaÅ^MXIQZ[ of Nike running shoes. Nike CEO Mark Parker does the best job of explaining why: “Leggings are the new denim.” This seems to be the anthem of today’s fashion. I didn’t dress in sporting attire to make any particular statement, I dressed in it because in today’s world, that’s just how you dress. Athleisure is just what it sounds like, athletic clothing that is worn for more than athletic endeavors and its popularity is so immense that it is hard to exaggerate. All kinds of brands carry athleisure, from lower-end H&M and Forever 21, to high-end Versace and Tory Burch. Several brands, like Lululemon and Fabletics, have seen huge success by centering their entire companies around this type of clothing. The days when we debated whether leggings could be worn as pants seem foggy and distant. Although we may not see it that way, the popularity of athleisure is evidence of a revolution. Not too long ago, sports were almost exclusively male territory. In the 1960s, less than 32,000 women participated in intercollegiate I\PTM\QK[IVLQVPQOP[KPWWTI\PTM\QK[<PM[MÅO]ZM[ can be compared to the more than 200,000 women who participate in collegiate athletics and over 3 million in high school athletics today. In decades past, women’s sports were not seen as legitimate competition. Rather, they were a way NWZ_WUMV\WUIQV\IQV\PMQZÅO]ZMIVL[WKQITQbM_Q\PUMV Even their sport clothes were designed with the intention of looking delicate and feminine. Women’s basketball uniforms once featured long skirts, blouses, and scarves. As one can imagine, because women’s sports lacked respect, they _MZMIT[W M`\ZMUMTa ]VLMZN]VLMLIVLQ\_I[ LQNÅK]T\NWZI NMUITMI\PTM\M\WÅVL\PMWXXWZ\]VQ\QM[\WKWUXM\M;W_PI\ changed? How did sports go from male territory to an entire fashion industry marketed toward women?    1\¼[ LQNÅK]T\ \W IV[_MZ \PI\ Y]M[\QWV _Q\PW]\ \ISQVO I good hard look at Title IX. However, Title IX is a loaded term, ripe with controversial stories and broad cultural implications. The law itself is rather inconspicuous. It states that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of [M`JMM`KT]LMLNZWUXIZ\QKQXI\QWVQVJMLMVQML\PMJMVMÅ\[ of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education XZWOZIU WZIK\Q^Q\a ZMKMQ^QVO .MLMZIT ÅVIVKQIT I[[Q[\IVKMº <PQ[ [QUXTaUMIV[\PI\ X]JTQK [KPWWT[U][\ XZW^QLM MY]IT academic and athletic opportunities to both sexes. Today, we hear about Title IX mainly with regards to its effects on women’s sports. As Joshua Senne, a doctoral student studying sports management at the United States Sports Academy explains, “Essentially, where women were not able to participate in sports because a team was not available for the opposite sex or because there was not a spot on the male \MIU L]M\WOMVLMZ LQ[KZQUQVI\QWV WVM KIV VW_ ÅVL\PI\ these teams or spots are available for women.” In the time period during which Title IX was passed, this notion was radical. Competitive sports existed for men and mainstream culture had no intention of changing that. In fact, if the public had known that this clause would do something so scandalous as to allow women to compete in sports in a similar manner as men, the bill may never have passed. Because of this, the potential effects of this revolutionary

JQTT PIL \W JM SMX\ Y]QM\ -LQ\P /ZMMV I KWVOZM[[_WUIV from Oregon, was instrumental in its passing. The average KQ\QbMV _I[ ]VLMZ \PM QUXZM[[QWV \PI\ Q\ _W]TL XZQUIZQTa INNMK\PQZQVOIVLMUXTWaUMV\I\X]JTQK[KPWWT[IVL/ZMMV¼[ mission was to keep it that way. In the documentary Sporting +PIVKMTI_UISMZ*MZVQKM;IVLTMZZMKITTML/ZMMV¼[ZMIK\QWV when she heard that certain lawmakers were planning to lobby for Title IX: “She said: ‘I don’t want you to lobby. *MKI][M QN  aW] TWJJa XMWXTM _QTT I[S Y]M[\QWV[ IJW]\\PQ[ JQTTIVL\PMa_QTTÅVLW]\_PI\Q\_W]TLZMITTaLW¼)VL [PM_I[IJ[WT]\MTaZQOP\1\_I[Y]Q\MIJQOJZMIS\PI\VWWVM was watching.” )T\PW]OP<Q\TM1@_I[XI[[MLY]QM\TaQ\[MNNMK\[IZMTW]L KTMIZIVLR][\I[KWV\ZW^MZ[QITI[/ZMMVXZMLQK\ML\PMa_W]TL be. Senne states that as women’s sports began to receive more funding, “The initial take, as one would expect, was that men reacted with resistance because they felt that women were impeding on something they had predominant control over for so many years.” )[QVM^MZaÅOP\NWZMY]Q\a_WUMV_MZMKWV[QLMZMLQVNMZQWZ to men until they could prove otherwise and, until that point, \PMa _MZM []JRMK\ \W WJRMK\QÅKI\QWV ¹1VQ\QITTa _WUMV \PI\ played sports were either seen as overly masculine or lacking NMUQVQVQ\a J]\ QV [WUM KI[M[ _WUMV _MZM WJRMK\QÅML Ja the media to be seen as sexy or weak and not necessarily a skilled athlete,” says Senne. “With the passing of Title IX and due time, women have more than proven that they are capable of keeping up with men in sports, and, in some

cases, surpassing men in performance. While there is still WJRMK\QÅKI\QWV WN  _WUMV QV [XWZ\[ XIZ\QK]TIZTa QV OWTN  WZ tennis, one can argue that women are starting to be seen as MY]IT[IVL\PMWJRMK\QÅKI\QWVPI[TM[[MVMLº If you look at today’s culture in isolation, it may be hard to believe that the way we view women in sports is progressive. In 2016, members of the US women’s national soccer \MIUÅTMLI_IOMLQ[KZQUQVI\QWVIK\QWVIOIQV[\\PM=VQ\ML States Soccer Federation stating that they were not receiving MY]IT XIa NWZ MY]IT _WZS -^MV\PW]OP   WN  ITT [XWZ\[ participants are women, women’s sports still only receive IZW]VL WN UMLQIKW^MZIOM<PMZMQ[[\QTT[WNIZ\WOW_PMV Q\ KWUM[\W OMVLMZ MY]Q\a0W_M^MZ_MU][\ ^QM_\WLIa¼[ sports culture in its context. Seventy years ago, women’s sports were so unpopular that even the athletes practiced in dresses and blouses. However, here I am dressed head to \WM QV I\PTM\QK _MIZ UIZSM\ML [XMKQÅKITTa\W_IZL[ _WUMV We have a tangible reminder of our efforts in the form of Lululemon leggings and pink Nike shoes. We have gone from a culture that doesn’t allow women to play sports to a culture QV_PQKP I\PTM\QK KTW\PQVO Q[ WN\MV\PMNMUITM W]\Å\ WN \PM KPWQKM;WLW_MPI^MITWVO_Ia\WOWNWZOMVLMZMY]Q\aQV sports? Yes, of course. But don’t believe the last half century WN ÅOP\QVOPI[JMMV_WZ\PTM[[4WWSQV\WaW]ZKTW[M\IVL\MTT me how far we’ve come.

By Hannah Harshe Layout by Julia Margalit