Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in SportsFrom small-town life to the national stage, from the boardroom to Capitol Hill, athletic contests help define what we mean in America by "success." And by keeping women from "playing with the boys" on the grounds that they are inherently inferior to men, society relegates them to second-class status in American life. In this forcefully argued book, Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano show in vivid detail how women have been unfairly excluded from participating in sports on an equal footing with men. Using dozens of powerful examples from the world of contemporary American athletics--girls and women trying to break through in football, ice hockey, wrestling, and baseball to name just a few--the authors show that sex differences are not sufficient to warrant women's coercive exclusion from competing with men; that some sex-group differences actually confer a sports advantage to women; and that "special rules" for women in sports do not simply reflect the "differences" between the sexes, but actively create and reinforce a view that women as a group are inherently inferior to men--even when women clearly are not. For instance, women's bodies give them a physiological advantage in endurance sports like the ultra-marathon and distance swimming. So, why do so many Olympic events--from swimming to skiing to running to bike racing--have shorter races for women than men? Likewise, why are women's tennis matches limited to three sets while men's are best-of-fives? This book shows how sex-segregated sports policies, instead of reflecting sex-group differences, in fact construct them. An original and provocative argument to level the athletic playing field, Playing with the Boys issues a clarion call for sex-sensible policies in sports as a crucial step toward achieving social, economic, and political equality for men and women in our society. |
Other editions - View all
Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sports Eileen McDonagh,Laura Pappano Limited preview - 2007 |
Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sports Eileen McDonagh,Laura Pappano Limited preview - 2007 |
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ability activities allowed American argued Association baseball basis basketball belief better Bill body boys challenge Civil coach coercive compete competition considered constitutional contact sports context court cultural differences disabled educational effect equal Equal Protection example female athletes field football Force gender girls high school higher History hockey individual inferior institutions involved issue Journal less limited Little League males and females March matter means men’s Michigan muscle noted offered officials Olympic opportunities organized participation percent performance physical play players policies political practice President Press problem programs prohibiting race reason regulations Rights roles rules separate sex discrimination sex segregation social society strength swimming tennis Title Title IX University wanted woman women women’s sports World wrestling York