I am Woman, Hear Me Roar

In 1974, there was an event at the SGES that reflected the times. A young woman stood up for all the other girls. Congress had enacted the Equal Rights Amendment, a modification to the US Constitution recognizing the equal rights of women. The ERA needed the ratification of 2/3 of the states, and the amendment would be an uphill climb. There were worries about traditional gender roles, and the 14th Amendment had already assured all citizens equal protection under the law.

Helen Reddy had a hit, “I am Woman,” which noted, “I know too much to go back and pretend…If I have to, I can do anything.”

A year earlier, 29-year-old women’s tennis champion Billie Jean King was challenged to a match by 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, a bit of a hustler, who had a reputation of gambling on his own matches. He bet that even at his age, he could beat any woman. The 1939 Wimbleton Champ first beat Margaret Court in the Mother’s Day Massacre earlier in ‘73. With a $100,000 prize available to the winner and millions in promotion and wagering, Billie Jean beat Bobby in straight sets in front of 40 million people on ABC Television. watching the “Battle of the Sexes.”

Sea Girt’s drama surrounded little Stephanie Voorhees, a first grader from Beacon Blvd, whose mother noted, “It’s a way of life these days.” Mrs. Voorhees wanted her daughter to wear slacks to school. This was against the interpretation of the dress code at SGES. Most public school districts were wary since the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) affirmed students' First Amendment rights to free speech, including dress. But it was common practice for girls to wear dresses to school. Even on TV, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy, who wore bell-bottom slacks or jeans outside of school, wore a skirt or a dress to their Brady Bunch Filmore Jr. High.

In Collingswood NJ in 1971, the State Education Department ruled against that school with a specific pants ban, so Mrs. Voorhees thought she should press for her daughter’s rights. The rules at Sea Girt were not specific about pants:

A 1974 pattern for pants suits. When Mom made clothes. (Ebay)

“All Boys and Girls attending Sea Girt Elementary School will be expected to dress in a manner appropriate for acceptable school attire. All Elementary school pupils and particularly those at the pre-high school learning level will want to manifest high personal standards of dress commensurate to their status of young ladies and young gentlemen in a proud new school.”

The National Organization of Women filed a discrimination suit with the state Civil Rights Division, charging the Board of Education and Principal Willam Pentony with discriminating against girls with their interpretation of standards.

Many SGES kids rode bikes to school. Pants were practical.

In 1974, the State Education Department ruled that Sea Girt and any other district could not restrict the pants, and from then on, public school girls around the state and eventually the country were free to wear pants. A UPI article nationwide was titled “Who Wears the Pants in Sea Girt?” Sales of girls’ pantsuits and slacks took off. By the late 70s, most high schoolers were in jeans. The ERA fell short of ratification.

In the rest of the country, Whipping Inflation was the concern. President Nixon resigned under the cloud of the Watergate hotel break-in and the subsequent coverup, and Gerald Ford took over as President. Whip Inflation buttons were distributed, encouraging savings and avoiding frivolous spending. It did not work.