Lady
Hoopsters (1998) is a comprehensive, and decidedly
feminist, overview of American women’s basketball,
done in the context of U.S. women’s history. It
starts with Dr. James Naismith’s invention of
basketball in the 1890s and how, from Day One, women
played the new game featuring throwing a ball into a
peach basket. The theme of the book is that there is a
dilemma in America between being a "lady" and
being an "athlete." In Lady Hoopsters,
this plays itself out over time, starting with the Victorian restrictions on a
lady leading to immediate, limiting rules for
women’s basketball. From the beginning though, some
women resisted the "official" rules and stuck
with the men’s game. Between 1920 and 1970, the
struggle was between women’s educators intent on
maintaining femininity through preventing the
"rough" and stressful competition of basketball
games, and women playing very competitively in industrial
leagues and AAU tournaments. After 1970 and the
women’s movement, competition came back to the
schools and there was an explosion of popularity for
women’s basketball. Even with this tremendous
forward progress, the lady/athlete still seems to have to
justify herself by insisting on her enduring femininity,
even as she shows her strength and competence.
To read from the reviews of Lady Hoopsters click here.
the Victorian restrictions on a
lady leading to immediate, limiting rules for
women’s basketball. From the beginning though, some
women resisted the "official" rules and stuck
with the men’s game. Between 1920 and 1970, the
struggle was between women’s educators intent on
maintaining femininity through preventing the
"rough" and stressful competition of basketball
games, and women playing very competitively in industrial
leagues and AAU tournaments. After 1970 and the
women’s movement, competition came back to the
schools and there was an explosion of popularity for
women’s basketball. Even with this tremendous
forward progress, the lady/athlete still seems to have to
justify herself by insisting on her enduring femininity,
even as she shows her strength and competence.
