In an attempt to look at the legislation from a different perspective, I’ve entered the text into Wordle to create a word cloud for each.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Somewhat surprisingly, these graphics show that the earlier pieces of legislation do not make overt large use of the word “women” or even “sex” or “gender”. The graphic for Title IX does use the words “girls” and “sex,” but, like the others, its major focus is on the institution that it seeks to reform. The proposed Equal Rights Amendment is strikingly different. Apart from its extremely short length, the bill makes its purpose known. The other laws’ deliberate omission of gendered terms is, on the one hand, admirable in that it clearly does not favor either gender. The later articles — Title IX and the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, both from 1972 — make it clear that the women need to be protected in the nation’s legislation. If the discrimination is targeted, the countermeasure must be targeted as well.