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SPEAKER_01: Hi, I'm Brittany Ashley, the host of Don't Tell the Babysitter Mom's Dead. And today I'm excited to introduce one of my favorite queer women that's been featured on Encyclopedia Womanica, Billie Jean King. As the only girl on my all-male baseball team for many years in my adolescence, I always deeply related to King's exhaustive struggle to prove her worth in a male-dominated world as a woman, as an athlete, and then again to prove her worth in a male-dominated world. And I always wanted to prove her worth as a lesbian. The battle of the sexes in 1973 was a major turning point for women in sports, but we still have such a long way to go for gender equality, LGBTQ equality, and of course, as we're reminded again and again, racial equality. Now here's host Jenny Kaplan to tell you all about my gal, Billie Jean King.
SPEAKER_04: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Womanica. All April, we're talking about explorers and contenders, women who veered outside of prescribed gender norms to accomplish feats and fields strongly associated with men. These women literally discovered new paths and or participated in incredible athletic endeavors. I personally find this group inspiring, especially at this moment when many of us are stuck indoors. Today's contender is a living legend. Her whirlwind tennis career captivated a nation, and her advocacy changed society for the better. She won 39 major tennis titles, fought and made progress for pay equity in her sport, and even earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Let's talk about the incredible Billie Jean King. Billie Jean Moffitt was born on November 22, 1943 in Long Beach, California. Athletic prowess ran in her family. Her father was a firefighter, but was once offered a tryout for an NBA team. Her mother was a talented swimmer, and her younger brother became a Major League Baseball pitcher. Billie Jean's foray into sports started with softball at the age of 10, but she soon transitioned to tennis, saving up money to buy her first racquet. In 1958, at the age of 14, she won a regional championship. After that, she started to receive coaching from Alice Marble, a famous player from the 1930s. In 1961, Billie Jean became part of the youngest duo to ever win the Wimbledon's Women's Doubles title. At that time, Billie Jean was attending California State University while teaching tennis lessons to make ends meet. She realized she'd need to work harder on her game if she wanted to be great, so she started deeply focusing on her training regimen. Soon, the world would see her work pay off. In 1966, Billie Jean won her first Wimbledon singles championship.
SPEAKER_00: Now, in the third set, Billie Jean serves for match point. Beautiful shot, and the Wimbledon title is hers.
SPEAKER_04: That was just the beginning. Between 1966 and 1972, Billie Jean won nine Grand Slam singles titles. In 1971, she became the first woman to earn $100,000 in prize money in a year on the circuit. Billie Jean was a star and had considerable sway in the sport. She used her influence to help promote gender equality. Billie Jean had long been advocating equal prize money for men and women in tennis. She was one of nine women who had even started their own circuit. After winning the US Open in 1972, Billie Jean said she would boycott the following year if the women's prize money was not equal to the men's. In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to give equal compensation to the men's and women's champions. By 1973, Billie Jean had been ranked the number one women's tennis player in the world five of the previous seven years. Another famous tennis player, Bobby Riggs, had long been boasting that women were inferior athletes. In the 1940s, Riggs had been ranked number one in the world three times. He argued that he could still beat any of the top women players even at the age of 55. And in May of 1973, he easily defeated Margaret Korf. In September of that same year, Billie Jean stepped up to Bobby Riggs' challenge in the legendary Battle of the Sexes match with a $100,000 prize at stake. That's over half a million dollars in today's money. An estimated 90 million viewers tuned in to see the showdown. After a theatrical introduction in which the players exchanged tongue-in-cheek gifts, the match started. Initially, Billie Jean struggled against Riggs and fell behind at the start of the first set, but she pulled ahead and dominated for the rest of the match. Billie Jean later said she pulled ahead when she realized she just had to win for women everywhere. That same year, Billie Jean won the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon. She continued to play tennis for another decade. In total, she won 10 singles grand slams, 16 doubles grand slams, and 11 mixed doubles grand slams. Billie Jean also became a champion for the LGBTQ community, though not without personal struggle. In 1981, a lawsuit thrust a private affair with her former personal assistant into the public eye, outing her. Billie Jean was the first prominent female athlete to come out as homosexual, and as a result, she lost her endorsements. Billie Jean continues to be an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights. In 1987, she divorced her husband and started a long-term relationship with Alana Kloss, another former player. Throughout her career, Billie Jean King won a massive list of awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Radcliffe Medal, the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame, and more. She's cited as influential in the creation of Title IX, was Time Magazine's Woman of the Year, and was the first woman to be Sports Illustrated Sports Person of the Year. She has inspired generations of women to rethink what's possible. All month, we're talking about explorers and contenders. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our Encyclopedia Womanica newsletter, Womanica Weekly. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Womanica, and you can follow me directly on Twitter at Jenny M. Kaplan. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow. I wanna tell you about another show I think you might like. Don't Tell the Babysitter Mom's Dead is a grief podcast hosted by writer Brittany Ashley. Each episode includes a conversation with a fellow member of the Dead Moms Club, as well as an exploration into pop culture's representation on what it's like to lose a parent, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, or every Disney movie ever. Listen as guests talk through their biggest trauma while having a few dark laughs. Listen to Don't Tell the Babysitter Mom's Dead wherever you get your podcasts.
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SPEAKER_06: Possible.
