Abstract
With the Trump administration’s recent changes related to Title IX, R. Shep Melnick’s book The Transformation of Title IX: Regulating Gender Equality in Education is very timely. In fact, Melnick prefaces the book indicating his writing began long before the administration’s partial reversal of guidelines enacted under the Obama administration. Melnick comments on the opportune nature of his book and offers readers the book as a way of understanding the inception of Title IX in what he calls the “American civil rights state.”
Melnick begins by taking readers back to the 1970s civil rights movements and discussing how American culture was primed for extensive civil rights legislation. Since Melnick is a professor of political science, he expertly guides readers on a journey through the complicated matter that is civil rights policy. Through the use of chronologies in tables, quotations from primary sources, and current events, Melnick weaves together the history of civil rights legislation that provided the impetus for groundbreaking legislation such as Title VII, which addresses discrimination in the workplace, and Title IX, which addresses discrimination in education.
Next, Melnick describes the leap Title IX took into the world of intercollegiate athletics. Melnick explains the Office of Civil Rights’ (OCR) work as “institutional leapfrogging.” Melnick defines “leapfrogging” as the ability to move a policy forward by making a large number of small steps and each time indicating that the guidelines are not new but only provide further clarification. The OCR, thanks to backing from courts, was able to drastically alter the practices of women’s participation in intercollegiate sports by using advisory “Dear Colleague Letters,” which outlined strict guidelines, while at the same time being backed by no enforcement power. Melnick comments that the most remarkable aspect of the work of the OCR is that the agency was prepared to enforce guidelines based only on circuit courts’ decisions in private civil suits.
Finally, Melnick demonstrates how Title IX was able to expand from a statute prohibiting sex discrimination to a remarkable set if regulations that set the narrative for how our culture should view sex and gender. The Obama administration asserted that “Title IX should be read as a dynamic statute whose meaning changes and expands over time” (p. 226) and “the law’s principal purpose is to eliminate all forms of sex stereotyping” (p. 227). The OCR insisted on using Title IX as a way to influence a generation to have healthy views of masculinity and femininity, which will directly affect views on violence against women. Melnick argues the actions of the OCR have done a disservice to education because the OCR’s views have drastically narrowed the focus of Title IX. Melnick proposes that the changes brought about by the Trump administration may force the OCR to bring policy-making out from the shadows and to answer the difficult questions concerning issues of discrimination in education that have plagued Title IX for decades. We know discrimination exists; therefore, Melnick proposes that it is time to go back to the basics to determine the original goals of Title IX.
As a researcher of campus sexual violence prevention, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gaining knowledge about the history and development of Title IX, as well as its intended and unintended consequences. A novice in policy will not struggle with Melnick’s expert untangling of a piece of legislation that is very visible in the society today. Social workers will connect with Melnick’s description of how Title IX progressed from prevention of sex discrimination in education, to regulations on intercollegiate athletics, to the most common view of Title IX today, as guidelines for preventing sexual harassment in higher institutions. However, Melnick maintains a neutral position by presenting arguments from both sides of the debate over the social construction of gender; therefore, readers interested in examining Title XI through a feminist lens may find the book inadequate. But regardless of Melnick’s position, the book makes an important contribution by providing readers an expert understanding of the history and formation of Title IX.