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.
It is the sum of the various stories, essays, and articles presented in the text that afford readers an opportunity to contextualize and critically examine female sport experience.
An extraordinary historical anthology. . . . An absorbing and authoritative read for anyone interested in women’s journey toward sports equality.
Jean O’Reilly holds a Ph.D. in English and American Studies from the University of East Anglia in England. She teaches courses on women’s sports films at the University of Connecticut.
Susan K. Cahn is an expert on women’s and LGBTQ history, with much of her work focusing on sports.
The author of Coming On Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Women’s Sport, Cahn can discuss topics that include transgender athletes and gender-testing of female athletes.
Cahn’s research interests also include the history of chronic illness, disability and psychiatry, especially in the context of women’s history. She can speak to media about these topics as well.
Jaime Schultz is Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Penn State, with an affiliate appointment in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. An award-winning teacher and Fulbright scholar, Schultz is the author or editor of five books and fifty article or book chapters. She also serves as the academic editor of the International Journal of the History of Sport (Americas) and as co-editor for the University of Illinois Sport and Society series.
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