Description
Book SynopsisA courtside view of how women athletes' identities are policed, on and off the courtWomen's college basketball is big businesstop teams bring in millions of dollars in revenue for their schools. Women's NCAA games are broadcast regularly on sports networks, and many of the top players and coaches are household names. Yet these athletes face immense pressure to be more than successful at their sport. They must also conform to expectations about gender, sexuality, and raceexpectations that are often in direct contrast to success in the game. They are not supposed to have muscles that are too big, they are not supposed to be too tough, they are not supposed to be too masculine or look like men, and they are not supposed to be queer. A former college athlete herself, Michelle J. Manno spent a full season with a highly competitive NCAA Division I women's basketball program as one of the team's managers. In vivid detail, she takes us on the court, on the team bus, into the locker room, and
Trade ReviewA powerful cautionary tale. Michelle J. Manno shows how women athletes—especially those
who are Black, queer, and/or masculine-presenting—are constrained by strict policing of gender
and sexuality. Manno paints a rich picture of women’s sports as a microcosm of intersectional
struggles for dignity, equality, and social justice.
* Michael A. Messner, co-author of No Slam Dunk: Gender, Sport, and the Unevenness of Social Change *
Manno’s work sets a powerful standard for the ways in which the complex identities of women
athletes outshine the false boundaries of race, gender, and sexuality. Her thoughtful analysis and
compassionate storytelling point the reader to what all of us seeking our place in sport strive for:
to bring one’s full self to the world of competition, to find our own authentic belonging there,
and ultimately to create a sense of ‘home’ for ourselves and others among teammates and
competitors alike.
* Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, NBA Referee *
Denied blends vivid story-telling with incisive theoretical analysis to highlight the persistent
racism and sexism that limit women athletes of all races, sexualities, and gender identities.
* Pat Griffin, author of Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport *
Manno takes readers inside a Division I collegiate basketball program. Denied convincingly
argues women athletes, specifically Black, queer, and gender non-conforming athletes, are
subject to racialized and gendered strategies of containment and control which ultimately impose
constraints on who they can be and what they can achieve.
* Cheryl Cooky, co-author of Serving Equality: Feminism, Media, and Women’s Sports *
As a former college athlete, Manno evocatively lays bare the challenges women athletes face
both on and off the court as they balance the many competing demands placed on them. Her
personal approach and deep empathy for this topic offer a necessary lens through which we can
understand how women athletes’ identities are policed along the lines of race, gender, and
sexuality.
* Chamique Holdsclaw, WNBA All-star and Olympic Gold Medalist *
For nine months, Manno was embedded within the Midwest State University women’s basketball team, an elite and competitive DI program. Immersed in that insular yet high-stakes world, she observes firsthand how unyieldingly female athletes—particularly queer, Black, and/or masculine-presenting—are policed both within and without. * Electric Literature *
