Open Play
The Case for Feminist Sport
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- US$17.99
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- US$17.99
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“This courageous book should spark a revolution in sport.”—Caster Semenya • “An articulate and convincing case that the segregation of women’s sports functions less as a benefit to women than a means of propping up patriarchal systems. It’s a trenchant, provocative take on a hot-button issue.”—Publishers Weekly
A thought-provoking manifesto arguing for the end of gender segregation in athletics.
Sheree Bekker and Stephen Mumford argue that the category of “women’s sports” is not the feminist win some would have you believe. Instead, the segregation of women in sports is just one of the many ways in which women are told to expect less from society. Women had to fight to be included in sports in the first place, and are now only included under far less favorable terms than those enjoyed by men. There are better ways to ensure safety and fairness, the authors make clear, than segregation by gender. And this matters deeply: ending gender segregation would encourage a more equitable distribution of resources, increase women’s participation in sports, and challenge outdated, sexist myths about women and their bodies.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The practice of segregating sports by sex is rooted in patriarchal values, not scientific fact, according to this forceful polemic from Bekker, a professor of health at the University of Bath, and philosopher Mumford (Absence and Nothing). Suggesting that performance gaps between men and women stem more from "cultural determinants" (women receive "less food, poorer nutrition and less physical activity" than men, according to some studies) than innate biological differences, the authors contend that the tradition of separating competitors by gender is rooted in societal notions of women's inherent need for protection. History shows a pattern of women being cast aside when their abilities came too close to men's, the authors note, pointing out that pitcher Jackie Mitchell had her professional baseball contract rescinded days after she struck out Babe Ruth in 1931. The authors call for a total rethinking of athletic competition through the centering of such values as compassion, inclusion, and collaboration, though aside from their primary goal of ending sex segregation, what such values might look like in practice is not entirely clear. Still, they construct an articulate and convincing case that the segregation of women's sports functions less as a benefit to women than a means of propping up patriarchal systems. It's a trenchant, provocative take on a hot-button issue.
