This Day In Sports History: Billie Jean King Defeats Sexism For A Couple Of Hours

Remember sexism? Of course you do: It’s the prevailing law of the day! But what if we told you that on September 20, 1973, for a period of almost two and a half hours, sexism was put on hold, giving way to an extremely temporary feeling of national equality and fairness? Too good to be true? It happened immediately following Billie Jean King’s straight-set rout of Bobby Riggs, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3, to win the much-heralded “Battle of the Sexes.”

For two hours and twenty-five minutes, a very fleeting “feminist fever” swept the nation. After the first set, and for about the time it takes to go to the DMV, women were permitted to open bank accounts without their husbands’ signatures. After the second set, women could make the same hourly wage as men. And then, for about 10 minutes toward the end of the third set, women could, for the first time, walk home alone without being catcalled!

“Jeans had pockets. Razors were on sale. Men were taking women’s last names. One man was even seen in public proudly changing a diaper. It was almost like, for that brief window of time, you could imagine a female President,” said tennis great Martina Navratilova, who was 17 at match time.

Added Navratilova, “Almost.”

But the tide turned when, following Billie Jean’s victory, Jimmy Connors beat five-year-old Kitty Connors 6–0, 6–0 in the “Battle of Sexes II.”  Word spread quickly to men everywhere that men were “back on top.” Male billionaires swooped in to outbid women who’d recently bought property. Pockets were unceremoniously torn off jeans. And crying kids everywhere were once again told, “Go to Mom.”

And the rest, as they say, is feminist history.

Misogyny would continue to reign until 2017, when, for the movie version of the event, Emma Stone was tapped to play Billie Jean King and managed to secure a salary of almost one-third of Steve Carell’s! 

Almost.