Game, Set, Match

December 1, 2010

An exploration of the link between the feminist revolution and the role of women in sports, as embodied by one of the 20th century's most iconic sports figures.

Ware (Title IX: A Brief History with Documents, 2006) would have been hard-pressed to choose a better lens through which to examine the transformation of women's sports—from seldom participated-in activities to an ever-growing field of high-level athletic excellence—than tennis superstar and trailblazer Billie Jean King, whose victory over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" was a major catalyst for that change. Though biography is not the primary focus, the author provides a full account of King's life, touching on her early marriage to a man who would be more business partner than lover, her sexual confusion and ultimate coming out as a lesbian, and her indomitable drive to not only succeed in tennis, but to help the game of tennis succeed. King's rise to prominence coincided with the passage of Title IX, a piece of legislation designed to prevent sexual discrimination in federally funded academic institutions that would have its most profound impact on sports. The narrative is by turns an account of the passage of the legislation and progression of women's athletics, a theoretical discourse on second-wave feminism and sexuality as they relate to sports and a biography of the influential and controversial King, making it a book that works on multiple levels—a quality that also makes it somewhat jumbled. Though the historical details necessarily inform the theoretical dissertation, the balance between each element is uneven, making the narrative hard to categorize, even as it cogently argues that the passage of Title IX may actually have impeded the creation of a level playing field.

It's a tribute to how much has changed that much of the book's content will be shocking to readers under 30; it's also a measure of how much remains to be done, given the "separate but equal" approach that still dominates sports today.

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February 15, 2011

Tennis great Billie Jean King was always in the thick of things. Ambitiously, she wanted to transform tennis from its country-club domain into a viable profession. She started coed Team Tennis and womenSports magazine, but it was 1973's televised "Battle of the Sexes," when she defeated Bobby Riggs, that sealed her reputation as a superstar. Independent scholar Ware (Title IX: A Brief History with Documents) approaches her subject by alternating chapters on King's life and career with chapters on feminism's history, Title IX legislation, and a historical overview of American women's sports. Mostly, this results in a seamless account of a turbulent time in American women's history, except for some understandably slow-moving sections on political and legislative struggles. Ware astutely places King at the vortex of the change in women's rights, gay causes (precipitated by the 1981 "palimony" suit brought against her), and sports professionalism, leaving no doubt about King's place in 20th-century women's sports. VERDICT Extensive notes ensure this book's value to students of women's history and women's sports as well as Billie Jean King's fans. (Index not seen.)--Kathy Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, B.C.

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