Power at Play CL

This provocative study by a sociology professor at the University of Southern California is based on interviews he conducted in the mid-1980s with 30 male former athletes (some of whom disliked being called ``former'') whose involvement with organized sport occurred in either high school, college or professional leagues. Examining ``the relationship between the development of masculine identities and the structure of sport as a social institution,'' Messner observes that the increased participation of women in sports--which, he notes, prompted his book--and a growing acceptance of gay athletes pose a powerful challenge to traditional notions of games as macho (and sexist and homophobic) activities. Among other striking observations in this well-documented analysis, Messner suggests that the feminist revolution of the 1960s and '70s may have stimulated a burgeoning interest in pro football, the most violent of major American sports, on the part of ``threatened'' males. With graceful prose and a broad scope, the book offers a feast of ideas. (Apr.)