Skip to main content

Distributed for University Press of New England

Women and Sports in the United States

A Documentary Reader

A spectacular transformation in women’s sports has occurred over the past century. The assimilation of feminist principles into the broader popular culture solidified the belief that sport plays a positive role in the lives of girls and women. Political activists for women’s rights codified this attitude with the passage of Title IX of the 1972 Federal Education Amendments, a law banning gender discrimination in educational settings, thus guaranteeing women’s legal right to an equitable share of athletic opportunities and resources.  This updated, expanded second edition of Women and Sports in the United States brings together scholarly articles, journalism, political and legal documents, and first-person accounts that collectively explore women’s sports in America, with an emphasis on the new millennium. Topics covered range from the many benefits of physical activity to the successes of aging women athletes, from hijabs on the playing field to the emergence of transgender athletes, from the sexism faced by female athletes to USA Gymnastics and the biggest sex abuse scandal in American history.

408 pages | 6 x 9 | © 2018

Sport and Recreation


View all books from University Press of New England

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments • Introduction • PART I: THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORT • Benefits: Why Sports Participation for Girls and Women (2016)—Women’s Sports Foundation • Climbing through the Glass Ceiling (2015)—Chuck Tanowitz • I Am Woman, See Me (Sweat)! Older Women and Sport (2016)—Maureen M. Smith • Illini Paralympian Is Racing to Help Russian Adoptees (2013)—Sean Hammond • Women’s Soccer Is a Feminist Issue (2015)—Maggie Mertens • Sport Has Huge Potential to Empower Women and Girls (2016)—Lakshmi Puri • PART II: BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL CONSIDERATIONS • Women in the Water: They Love to Flounder but Few Become Good Swimmers (1895)—Anonymous, New York Times • Sport, Physical Training, and Womanhood (1939)—Stephan K. Westmann • Does the Menstrual Cycle Affect Sporting Performance? (2015)—James McIntosh • Position Statement on Girls and Women in Sports (2002)—Lyle Micheli, Angela Smith, Francisco Biosca, and Patricia Sangenis, with Mark Jenkins • Girls Suffer Sports Concussions at a Higher Rate Than Boys. Why Is That Overlooked? (2015)—Marjorie A. Snyder • Women’s Sport: What Everyone Needs to Know (2018)—Jaime Schultz • Female Athletes Dope, Too (2016)—Ian McMahan • PART III: PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES • Mental Health and Well-Being (2015)—E. J. Staurowsky, M. J. DeSousa, K. E. Miller, D. Sabo, S. Shakib, N. Theberge, P. Veliz, A. Weaver, and N. Williams • Sports Participation and Positive Correlates in African American, Latino, and White Girls (2015)—Susan C. Duncan, Lisa A. Strycker, and Nigel R. Chaumeton • The Pressure of Pulling Your Own Weight in Rowing (2017)—D’Arcy Maine • Shouts from the Stands: A Letter to USA Swimming about Gender Stereotypes (2015)—Kelsey Theriault • Trends in Gender-related Research in Sport and Exercise Psychology (2011)—Nicole M. LaVoi • PART IV: SEX, GENDER, AND THE RULES OF INCLUSION • Is Gender Segregation in Sports Necessary? (2016)—Alice Sanders • Wimbledon Has Sent Me a Message: I’m Only a Second-Class Champion (2006)—Venus Williams • So What If Some Female Olympians Have High Testosterone? (2016)—Jaime Schultz • Hyperandrogenism and Women versus Women versus Men in Sport: A Q&A with Joanna Harper (2016)—Ross Tucker • On the Team: Equal Opportunity for Transgender Student Athletes (2010)—Pat Griffin and Helen J. Carroll • PART V: ATHLETES PERFORMING MASCULINITIES AND FEMININITIES • All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Rules of Conduct, 1943–1954 —All-American Girls Professional Baseball League • Debunking the “Throw like a Girl” Myth (2015)—Jenn Savedge • Playing “Too Womany” and the Problem of Masculinity in Sport (2013)—Joanna L. Grossman and Deborah L. Brake • Living the Paradox: Female Athletes Negotiate Femininity and Muscularity (2004)—Vikki Krane, Precilla Y. L. Choi, Shannon M. Baird, Christine M. Aimar, and Kerrie J. Kauer • Something to Cheer About? (2014)—Jaime Schultz • PART VI: SEXUALITIES AND SPORT • Women in Sports Should Look Beautiful (1936)—Paul Gallico • Athletes and Magazine Spreads: Does Sexy Mean Selling Out? (2012)—Laura Pappano • 2012 Harvard Men’s Soccer Team Produced Sexually Explicit “Scouting Report” on Female Recruits (2016)—C. Ramsey Fahs • Stronger Together (2016)—Kelsey Clayman, Brooke Dickens, Alika Keene, Emily Mosbacher, Lauren Varela, and Haley Washburn • Changing the Game: Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbians in Sport (1992)—Pat Griffin • Gag Orders on Sexuality (2013)—Allie Grasgreen • Devastating Report Details Toxic Culture That Led to the Worst Sex Abuse Scandal in U.S. Sports (2017)—Lindsay Gibbs • PART VII: INTERSECTIONS OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND GENDER • “Cinderellas” of Sport: Black Women in Track and Field (2003)—Susan Cahn • One-Legged Leotards and Tiger-Striped Fingernails: Florence Griffith-Joyner and the Representation of Black Femininity (2015)—Lindsay Parks Pieper • Finishing Last: Girls of Color and School Sports Opportunities (2015)—National Women’s Law Center and Poverty and Race Research Action Council • America’s Painful Journey from Prejudice to Greatness in Women’s Gymnastics (2016)—Celisa Calacal and Lindsay Gibbs • All about Eve on Ice: Creating a New Olympic Rivalry between Blonde Girls, Just in Time (2014)—Andi Zeisler • Media Fail to Give Real First Asian American Olympic Gold Medalist Her Due (2016)—Devin Israel Cabanilla • On the Rez (2001)—Ian Frazier • PART VIII: WOMEN, SPORT, AND THE MEDIA • Women Play Sport, but Not on TV: A Longitudinal Study of Televised News Media (2013)—Cheryl Cooky, Michael A. Messner, and Robin H. Hextrum • Depicting the Sporting Body: The Intersection of Gender, Race, and Disability in Women’s Sport and Fitness Magazines (2006)—Marie Hardin, Susan Lynn, and Kristie Walsdorf • How to Talk about Female Olympians without Being a Regressive Creep: A Handy Guide (2016)—Lindy West • Breaking: Women in Hijab Play Sports (2016)—Shireen Ahmed • Women in Sports Media Face Unrelenting Sexism in Challenges to Their Expertise and Opinions (2016)—Julie DiCaro • PART IX: CURRENT STATUS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE • Title IX and Athletics: Leveling the Playing Field Leads to Long-Term Success (2017)—National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education • Forty-Five Years of Title IX: The Status of Women in Intercollegiate Athletics (2017) • Amy S. Wilson • Girls’ Participation in Physical Activities and Sports: Benefits, Patterns, Influences, and Ways Forward (2005)—R. Bailey, I. Wellard, and H. Dismore • Women in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games: An Analysis of Participation, Leadership, and Media Coverage (2017)—E. J. Houghton, L. P. Pieper, and M. M. Smith • Strategies for Change (1995)—Feminist Majority Foundation • Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press