Exhibition Rentals

— Leveling the Playing Field —

Celebrating Title IX and the History of Women in Sports

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I have a vision, Chuck ... I can see the day coming when women will have
the same opportunities in sports as men! —Peppermint Patty, 1979

Peanuts — September 27, 1979

Charles Schulz brought his life-long passion for sports to Peanuts, and from the very beginning his girl characters participated in sports of all kinds. Schulz often used the theme of fairness in his comic strip and believed in giving everyone equal opportunity. Consequently, in Peanuts he created standout girl athletes, demonstrated that a girl could excel in one sport and not in another, and encouraged girls' participation in sports as diverse as football and figure skating. Schulz became even more aware of the issue of equal opportunity for women in sports after meeting legendary sports icon Billie Jean King in the early 1970s and throwing his support behind the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF). One of the WSF's major goals was to ensure the implementation of Title IX. Title IX, signed into law in 1972, guaranteed equal access to both men and women in federally–funded educational programs and activities, including sports.

In 1979, at a particularly crucial time in the history of implementing Title IX, Schulz brought public attention to the issue by creating a multi-day storyline in Peanuts about the legislation and the status of girls and women in sports. But his efforts to promote women and sports did not end there; he continued to highlight the contribution of women athletes by featuring contemporary female sports stars in his comic strip and by hosting a senior women's tennis tournament and a "mixed" golf tournament.

Leveling the Playing Field, a traveling exhibition from the Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center, celebrates girls in sports as only Peanuts can and commemorates the 40th anniversary of Title IX. The exhibition features 86 Peanuts comic strips, an overview of women's sports history, sports memorabilia from Charles M. Schulz's personal archives, an audio/visual program, and two interactive displays. Hosting venues are encouraged to add artifacts and memorabilia from their own collections to enhance the exhibition.

Peanuts — September 27, 1979
This Peanuts strip is part of the series on Title IX that Schulz drew highlighting the issue of females in sports.

Sally	Molly Volley	Lucy

For detailed project descriptions, images, checklists, and current information, contact Dinah Houghtaling,
Traveling Exhibitions Manager, at dinah@schulzmuseum.org or (707) 579-4452, ext. 287.