Julie Rousseau
A Special Advocate for The Women of Troy
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, USC Athletics’ Julie Rousseau discusses the role of women student-athletes in the fight for equality.
by Jenesse Miller
USC’s Associate Athletic Director Julie Rousseau has been a student-athlete, a high school, college and professional head coach, and an educator. Add “Trailblazer” to her growing list of accomplishments.
Rousseau has held some significant positions in her career as coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, assistant coach at Stanford University and head coach at Pepperdine University. But her current role is perhaps the most important as she helps advocate for racial and gender equity in sports and seeks to empower tomorrow’s leaders at USC.
In 2020, she was chosen to head up the USC Athletics Black Lives Matter Action Team, with a stated goal of implementing “a series of meaningful and substantive actions and reforms consistent with the essence of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Specifically, in solidarity with Black student athletes, coaches, and staff at USC Athletics and beyond.” She is also the primary staff advocate for the Women of Troy, an affinity group within the athletic department devoted to promoting and developing USC’s renowned women’s athletics program.
In recognition of the anniversary of the passage of Title IX, USC News spoke to Rousseau, an adjunct professor of gender and sexuality studies at Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, about the role of women student-athletes in the fight for equality.
Why are women’s athletics such a fundamental part of women’s history and of USC history?
I believe we’re at a pivotal time in women’s sports. Just recently, women soccer players reached a $24 million settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation after an unequal pay lawsuit. Also, the WNBA celebrated its 25th year in 2021. These are key evidence of progress for women within and beyond the sports arena.
There is still work to be done, however. For example, during the 2021 NCAA Tournament, huge disparities between the men’s and women’s weight rooms, the swag bags, food, COVID testing protocol, and more came to light. The release of the Kaplan Report documented the major inequities in NCAA basketball. As we approach Women’s History Month, we have the opportunity to celebrate a wide spectrum of women’s accomplishments and acknowledge historical figures who have created pathways for those who followed them. We are guided by the question: “What else remains to be done?” s to be do
Here at USC, during the start of the 2022, we offered a six-month campaign from January to June where we highlighted some of that history as we approached the 50th anniversary of Title IX on June 23, 2022. And on International Women’s Day, we relaunched the Women of Troy, which has been synonymous with our female student-athletes here at USC for many years.
Last year, I interviewed Barbara Hedges, USC’s first female athletic director after Title IX was enacted in 1972. She began her USC career as an associate athletic director in 1973, overseeing the Women of Troy to 13 national championships; then she became a senior associate athletic director in 1989. Obviously, the early ’70s was a difficult period. They were making a major transition from women’s sports being thought of as “play days” when women could play sports, but they weren’t thought of as competitive. They didn’t even keep score. Their sports participation was thought of as a way for women to stay active and physically strong for childbearing.
Fast forward to the passage of Title IX, and now women have opportunities to compete and earn college scholarships. Hedges was very firm that women athletes at USC were going to be called the “Women of Troy”; they weren’t going to be called the “ladies.” The Women of Troy exemplified strength, as opposed to some of the social norms associated with being a lady.
The return of the Women of Troy is part of our work to advance our female student athletes and the contributions they make to Trojan Athletics. They want people to see them as fully capable women who are going to compete at the highest level, and to see the intersections between the Black woman’s experience, the Asian woman’s experience, Latinx women and LGBTQI women.
Looking back over those 50 years and how far we’ve come since Title IX, what are the possibilities for a woman who comes to USC to compete as a student-athlete?
The possibilities are far better. But I think that there are still some disparities that are very evident to our young women. So, whether it’s visibility on our social media sites or our websites, these are areas that our women are saying, “Hey, we’re working just as hard as men.” These are the things that our women are continuing to fight for.
I teach a gender and sexuality studies class that centers the voice and experience for female student-athletes of color. We ask the students how they’d improve the female student-athlete experience here at USC. Each time two themes emerge. First, that we need to value women in all the intersections that they bring — the full humanity of that woman, not just her gender. And the other theme is that there should be more opportunities for women’s accomplishments to be celebrated, highlighted, and featured on campus and on various platforms.
And that’s an area in which our Women of Troy affinity group is working to improve. We want to create these opportunities for women to have safe spaces to have these conversations. In Heritage Hall, there is a lounge that is dedicated to our female student-athletes. The creation of that space says, “We see you; we welcome you.” Obviously, a lot still needs to be accomplished. Using opportunities like Women’s History Month allows us to celebrate our athletes and to bring attention to disparities so that we can keep improving opportunities for women.
I should add that our female student-athletes have major confidence and swag. There are some powerful young women here. Whether it be on the field of play or in any arena where they find themselves, our young women bring confidence in themselves. I think playing sports contributes to their self-confidence.
How about you? Did your participation in sports give you confidence?
When I was a young girl, I was the first girl to play on an all-boys baseball team. I just used my initials — J.R. — and I had a big afro. The other teams did not know my true identity because girls were not allowed to play on the boys’ team. I was undercover, you might say. My teammates and coaches knew I was a girl, but they also knew I could play well; so, they wanted me on the team. My dad rejected the deception and said, “If she is not recognized as Julie, then she can’t play next year.” And they changed the rules. I may have been one of the first girls to play with an all-boys Little League team in that state.
That kind of support you get from your parents and other family members is critical. I think that when women do get a chance to be physical and test the limits of their own bodies and minds to be competitive, there’s a sense of assurance that you are capable. The confidence that grows within when you’re able to perform on a field of play is immeasurable. The world is constantly trying to diminish some of women’s confidence, and we want women to be respected and supported for how they compete.
Women’s basketball is a different sport from men’s basketball in the sense that it’s played below the rim. But it’s still great basketball, requiring skill, teamwork, and perseverance.
Women athletes are more vocal than ever and, they want to be acknowledged for what they bring. They want to be treated the same in terms of opportunities given to their male counterparts. They’re saying, “I want to be seen,” and that they deserve more.
You’ve mentioned several times that participating in athletics gives women confidence. What are some of the other benefits for girls and women participating in sports?
There are data that show girls who play sports tend to be more successful in several other venues and endeavors. They have higher self-esteem, a more positive body image, and they’re less likely to drop out of school than a significant segment of women. They’re reported to be less likely to get pregnant at an early age and are more likely to attend and finish college. sexuality.’
But the space we are in now (where we are more committed than ever to diversity, equity, and inclusion) tells us that just thinking about gender is not enough. Our female athletes are saying, “I’m more than just my gender. I’m more than this female body that you see,
and I have more to contribute than just the unique female experience. I’m more than just my race and my sexuality.”
We have to use that intersectional lens to fully understand their full identities and ways we can support them to achieve their dreams.
Is there anything else you want to add about where women’s athletics are now versus 50 years ago?
Women athletes went from being out of place, like interlopers, who are not really welcome or seen, to achieving world-fame, and they’ve achieved a level of recognition that makes room for their voices to make change. I applaud the women who have been brave enough to use their platforms to make the world better not only for themselves, but for the generations to come.
One final thing. I want to add something the students in my class contributed to this ongoing discussion. They were clear that we need men to help change the outdated narrative about women by supporting women in their fight for equal rights and equal opportunities. And it’s happening. For example, the support the NBA players have been giving to the WNBA is impressive. When little boys begin to see that it’s cool to go watch the WNBA and to see they’re competing just as hard as any hard-working male team, that’s when we achieve real change.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in USC News on MARCH 31, 2022