Denied: Women, Sports, and the Contradictions of Identity

Women athletes in college basketball face immense pressure to be more than successful at their sport, but they must also conform to expectations about gender, sexuality, and race. Michelle J. Manno spent a season with a highly competitive NCAA Division I womens basketball program as one of the teams managers and found that these athletes were strictly policed around the presentation of their gender and sexuality, especially the athletes who were Black. Manno also highlights several well-known contemporary professional athletes to show that fame and performing at the highest levels in sport does not protect women athletes from having to navigate the conflicting and often contradictory expectations of identity.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 19 September 2023
Publisher: New York University Press

Women athletes in college basketball face immense pressure to be successful on and off the court, while also conforming to expectations about gender, sexuality, and race. Michelle J. Manno, a former college athlete, spent a season with a highly competitive NCAA Division I womens basketball program as one of the teams managers and found that these talented women were strictly policed around the presentation of their gender and sexuality, especially the athletes who were Black. They were routinely monitored, banned from engaging in certain activities, and often punished for behavior that put their queerness, Blackness, and masculinity on display. Manno also highlights several well-known contemporary professional athletes to show that conforming to conventional expectations of gender and sexuality is not only challenging, but also necessary for success in the sport.

Women athletes in college basketball face immense pressure to be successful on and off the court, while also conforming to expectations about gender, sexuality, and race. Michelle J. Manno, a former college athlete, spent a season with a highly competitive NCAA Division I womens basketball program as one of the teams managers and found that these talented women were strictly policed around the presentation of their gender and sexuality, especially the athletes who were Black. They were routinely monitored, banned from engaging in certain activities, and often punished for behavior that put their queerness, Blackness, and masculinity on display. Manno also highlights several well-known contemporary professional athletes to show that conforming to conventional expectations of gender and sexuality is not only challenging, but also necessary for success in the sport.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479885381