Stand Up and Shout Out: Women’s Fight for Equal Pay, Equal Rights, and Equal Opportunities in Sports

Sports psychologist Steidinger (Sisterhood in Sports: How Female Athletes Collaborate and Compete) attempts to provide a useful introduction to the challenges women athletes still face but falters in this poorly organized volume. Steidinger presents anecdotes of disrespect towards women, such as a star NFL player’s demeaning comments to a female journalist (Steidinger lists many such incidents), along with statistics on the underrepresentation of women coaches, neither of which provide new information or arguments. The action steps at the end of each chapter are often superficial (“Teach girls to speak up and shout out for what they believe in”; LGBTQ athletes are encouraged to “Be proud of who you are!”). And having praised some male athletes for their sensitivity to the issue, Steidinger argues that those same athletes should be engaged “in endorsing the value of women’s sports,” which they are already doing. Steidinger is a passionate advocate for her cause, but even those in her camp will come away unenlightened and without a clear path forward. (Mar.)