couple said he did it because he , Gail What accounts for such vast hates homosexuals and Devers, Inger Miller and Gwen increases? To Donna Lopiano, bisexuals. Torrence thus joined what be• executive director of the Previously, Robert James came an ever-increasing circle Women's Sports Foundation, it Acremant had said he shot the during the Olympics: women has much to do with what women during a robbery that who delivered big performances Davenport referred to—a went awry, and their and received a lot of notice for marked shift in cultural homosexuality made it easier. doing it. attitudes toward women in Acremant'said in a letter to left the sports. It also has to do with an his hometown newspaper, the pool with four golds. ever-growing number of girls Stockton (Calif.) Record, that Kerri Strug became a poster who are playing sports at a he invented the robbery girl for athletic fortitude. young age, creating what motive because he was Marie-Jose Perec of Lopiano called "a critical mass" nervous about how France produced the of participants. other jail inmates same 200- and 400- "The progress made to date would react. metre double that has been made possible by the "Now I just don't Michael Johnson did, first generation of mothers and care what people think, and not much less fathers whose daughters (not including the jury impressively. only) play sports but can get Acremant, 27, wrote from the It would be absurd to sug• athletic scholarships doing it," jail where he is awaiting trial on gest that Olympic heroines are Lopiano said. aggravated murder and related some kind of a 1996 innovation. But the biggest factor of all charges. "They can kill me for Long before there was Gail was the passage in 1972 of Title all I care. I've never liked life Devers, there was , IX in the US, legislation that anyway." and Fanny Blankers-Koen. demanded men's and women's Trial was set for February. Before Van Dyken, there was sports be treated equally. Title In the August 8 letter, Dawn Fraser of . Nadia IX meant scholarships. It meant Acremant also said he killed a Comanechi and increased respect, funding, man last year in a drunken rage were gymnastics wonderkids opp'itunity. after the man made a pass at before Strug and Dominique The more that women began him. Dawes were born. to play, and play well, the more The bound and gagged Still, there's no doubt the a market began to develop. bodies of Roxanne Ellis and Atlanta Games catapulted Corporations saw the upward Michelle Abdill were found in women's sports to a new level of attendance curve. December in the back of a interest in those achievements. They saw a chance to reach pickup truck. They had been "These Olympics, probably female consumers, who were not shot in the head. more than any before, are only playing, but watching, too. Gay community leaders showing a lot of little girls it's Even sports that did not get expressed fears they were killed okay to sweat, it's okay to play huge air time flourished. because they were outspoken hard, it's okay to be an athlete," "It was another step, bigger champions of homosexual tennis gold medallist Lindsay than most," Mia Hamm said, rights. Davenport said. "It shows how speaking of women's soccer's Source: Philippine Daily far women's athletics has come, Olympic debut. Inquirer, 23 August 1996 just in my lifetime." "Maybe it will help start a Davenport was born in league, give girls who want to 1976. That year, in Montreal, play soccer something to look GAMES HELP FUEL WOMEN'S 1,247 women competed in the forward to." REVOLUTION Games. Eight years before that, The same can be said for a While the US men's 4 x 100 in Mexico City, a total of 781 whole spectrum of women's relay team was busy being women participated. sports at the Olympics, where trounced, their distaff counter• In Atlanta, the number of change is coming faster than a parts were on the same track— women was an all-time high of Lisa Fernandez heater. four fast females running for 3,779—or 37 percent of all Ask Dot Richardson about gold. athletes. that. When she was 10,

Women in Action No. 2, 1996 7 Richardson wanted to play Little more than one boyfriend. Then APPROACHING MID-LIFE? READ League Baseball. The coach said young men meet and arrange ON sure - just cut your hair, dress that a group of men should rape Women who reach natural like a boy and well call you Bob. such a girl. menopause menstruate between Dot discovered softball The young women described 400-500 times during their instead. The year was 1972, the gang rape as a method that is lives. same year Title IX passed, and used to punish women "who do Smoking can bring on an an athletic revolution began. not behave well." They said girls early menopause. Source: South China Morning "behave well" out of fear that Japanese women have a Post, 7 August 1996 they may be gang raped and very low rate of menopausal even felt it was good that complaints. It is suggested that "misbehaving women get this may be due to their higher GANG RAPE AS PUNISHMENT punished because it is wrong for consumption of tofu (soya bean Gang rape is common them to make the boyfriends curd). practice—it is used to punish fools." Young women who Mangoes are an anti• girls who have more than one sympathised with girls depressant. boyfriend. Gang rape might subjected to gang rape were in Banana and lettuce calm even be used as "a punishment" the minority and they also your nerves. voiced their condemnation of if a girl tells her boyfriend he has Hormone Replacement such girls' behaviour. passed a sexually transmitted Therapy (HRT) helps improves disease (STD) on to her. While the young women said memory and may reduce the This startling information they were not scared of their risk of Alzheimer's Disease emerged from one of the boyfriends and could discuss Men also experience midlife workshops held with young issues with them, they also changes when the testosterone women in Mpumalanga said they were not in a levels in their bodies decline. last year to develop the position to suggest the Some researchers believe Women's Health use of condoms to that testosterone treatment may Project workshop them. They told us: prove equally effective for male manual on sexually "Even if you have the patients as oestrogen is to transmitted diseases. condom there is nothing females. The issue of gang rape you can do if he does not Source: NEWomen NEWSletter came up during role plays want to use them and you Winter 1996 in a workshop. In the cannot refuse to have sex with workshop a "girlfriend" had to him because he is going to beat tell her "boyfriend" that she had you up". MURDER PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON an STD. This is followed by a The young women didn't PROSTITUTION role play in which the question the inequalities in SOUTH AFRICA—The "boyfriend" discussed this relationships. They saw men as prostitute's corpse was found information with his "friend." In leaders who should always also buried upside down in bushes this role play the "boyfriend" be initiators. near Milnerton in November said: "1 was so annoyed by this The above issues have come 1995, her legs and buttocks girl who said that it was me who up in STD and other Women's protruding above the ground. made her ill. When 1 realised Health Project workshops. As The post mortem revealed she that 1 also have the disease, I a result of this, WHP feels that had probably been buried alive. decided to arrange a group of there is a need for educational In January 1996, another boys to come and rape her." materials that will address body was found near In the discussion after the violence, health and sexuality Durbanville, and police role play we asked the young issues. announced a serial killer was on women whether gang rape was Source: Women's Health News, the loose in Cape Town. He had a reality in their community. May 1996, No. 18 murdered at least nine They said gang rape happens in prostitutes, strangling them their community; it is a common with their clothes, and torturing practice especially as a three of them before they were punishment for a girl who has killed.

8 Women in Action No. 2, 1996