“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” — George Orwell, Animal Farm

Watching Annika Sorenstam play a tournament on the men’s PGA tour sparked several thoughts and feelings for me related to fairness, privilege and growing up as a female who enjoyed and was fairly good at sports. It also sparked some memories of an early career coaching female athletes — just after Title IX passed, allowing female athletes equal access to athletic facilities and scholarships. Of course, some of these same feelings came to the surface when I saw the George W. administration try to weaken Title IX.

First, I thought Annika handled the hoopla with class, including the negative remarks of a male golf pro who said he would withdraw if paired with her (I hope he grows up some day). Of course, there are a few who would say that if Annika can play in the men’s tournaments, men should be allowed to play in the women’s tournaments.

And this is related to my next topic — those who feel they are privileged by birth. I recall a joke one of my best friends tells about George W. — “He was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.” In this case, men are born with more muscle fibers, so, all things being equal, as golfers they are ostensibly capable of longer drives than women. In other words, Annika’s short game, including putting, is just as good, but she will never drive as long as Tiger Woods. Now here comes the “life isn’t fair” part. Even though Annika has a more impressive record in terms of tournament wins, she will never win the kind of prize money Tiger does.

Growing up, I heard we were all created equal, “with liberty and justice for all.” I realized as I went through life that some people were considered “more equal” and thought they were due more liberty and justice than others. For instance, I do have the “privilege” of being white, though I don’t have equal civil rights and opportunities because I am a woman and gay — as compared to my white, heterosexual brother.

My friend Lee Ashmore has developed a point system representing the worldview of the “more equal” phenomenon. Let’s say everyone starts out at zero. The more points you have, the more equal you consider yourself, and expect society to act accordingly. Each one of the following characteristics you can claim is worth one equal point: Male; heterosexual; white; tall; attractive features; thin (in a fit way); wealthy; not old; college degree; athletic (if male); speak without an accent (unless it is British); married to the opposite sex.

The privileged, “more equal” society at times fights hard to subtract points for people that possess any of the following characteristics: non-white; female; gay or lesbian; overweight; poor (especially if on welfare); short (if male); old (especially gay male or straight female); disabled; single parent.

Have you noticed how some people in the unearned privilege group work awfully hard to maintain their unearned, privileged status? People like George W. represent this group. They appoint judges who will take away “choice” from women. They appoint committees to weaken Title IX, which, when passed in 1972, gave many women the same opportunities men already had in terms of participation in school sports teams. Of course, those clinging to privilege for dear life also oppose affirmative action in every way possible way.

Indeed, Republicans are appalled that gay couples would like the same rights as married people. Indeed, one Republican claimed that allowing civil unions for gays would be “the death of marriage.” Yet, using Vermont as a test case, we see that not one marriage died as a result of the civil unions of gay couples. Luckily, we are in country where everyone gets one vote (with the exception of Florida in the 2000 presidential elections). We can go to the polls and elect candidates who support civil rights for all U.S. citizens. If we exercise this right, maybe someday we will live in a society where we are truly created equal.