The Stronger Women Get, the More Men Love Football: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports

by Mariah Burton Nelson

Book Overview

Originally published: New York: Harcourt Brace, 1994. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151813930
• ISBN13: 9780151813933
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read for College Athletes

This book does a great job of describing many of the obstacles faced by female athletes. It has greatly helped me redefine my athletic goals and understand what I may encounter as I continue my athletic pursuits.

Amazing. Could NOT stop reading this book.

This book is truly enlightening. While i know some of her claims are contestable (as all theory is), i still want to sew her thoughts into my brain so they will be available for instant access and referral. I have always been wary of our sports culture; Nelson tells me why. Nelson in no way condemns athletics or sports, but rather the sexism that has evovled around American sports culture, and the possible reasons for this evolution. Unfortunately i know that this book would not be palatable for many sports fans; for that reason it is so utterly poignant.

A Must Read for Feminist Sports Enthusiasts

I discovered this book only recently and it is a remarkable work. Nelson eloquently describes many of the obstracles of sexism that remain in women's sports today. While much progress has been made, many inequities remain as she clearly reports. While this book was initially published in 1994, it is still very relevant. The disparities in the money made by elite female athletes when compared to elite male athletes remain vast and disturbing. All feminists who also love sports will love this book.

Well written, entertaining -- and scary

I'm a woman who has been puzzled and bemused for a long time by the male fixation on sports. How can a man remember the batting averages of all the players in last year's World Series, but not know the shoe size of the woman he's been married to for 10 years? Why does a man buy a newspaper, read every word of the sports section, and throw away the rest without even glancing at it? Why is a professional basketball player paid a salary that rivals (and often exceeds) that of the CEO of a major corporation, who is responsible for managing a trillion-dollar budget and thousands of employees? And why, when a local writer received a major national award, was she relegated to a few column-inches in the Local section of the paper, while the firing of a high school football coach made the front-page headlines?Nelson's book confirmed what I'd long suspected: as women have gradually broken through one glass ceiling after another, men have retreated into sports as the last bastion of traditional masculinity. It's a world in which "girl" is used as an insult, where men are permitted to express their affection only by punching each other, and where the only females allowed on the premises are decorative servants. But for those who claim that this is harmless male bonding and dismiss its critics as man-haters, Nelson shows the darker side: high school athletes who rape with impunity, glorification of mindless violence, and perpetuation of a concept of "masculinity" defined by behavior that would make a Neanderthal blush.While it's possible to pick holes in some of her arguments (I know female sports fans who are as ardently partisan as any man), I think Nelson's analysis is generally well done and convincing. My only criticism is that I would have appreciated more suggestions on "Where do we go from here?" But I think awareness of the problem is more than half the battle, and she's certainly done an excellent job of that! Every parent in America should read this book.

so why aren't women in pro football?

Nelson has an incredible way to convince, inform and provide insight to readers. The Stronger.... is an eye opening book that leaves readers wanting more nad wondering what affect sports can have on their lives. This book is a constant on my most read books and has a constant place in my memory as a source for statistics and information