Building the WNBA: From "Dunking Divas" to Political Leaders

by Georgia Munro-Cook

Overview

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), exploring the role of gender, race, and sexuality in the continuing growth of the league. As the longest running and most successful professional women’s sporting league in the United States, the WNBA has evolved into a politically important force both inside and outside the sporting world. Drawing on a variety of research methods, including ethnography, media and literary analysis, and archival research, the book argues that it is its players’ dedication and commitment to ensuring a sustainable league that has enabled the WNBA to survive in spite of an American sporting landscape that is otherwise hostile to women.

As such, It will be of interest to academics and students working or studying in the fields of sports sociology, sports management, feminist theory, sports history, and gender studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031531132
Publisher:	Springer Nature Switzerland
Publication date:	03/15/2024
Series:	New Femininities in Digital, Physical and Sporting Cultures
Edition description:	2024
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Georgia Munro-Cook is a Research Fellow at Griffith University, Australia, working as part of the Inclusive Futures Beacon to promote sport and recreation for people with disability. She is particularly interested in looking at the intersectional barriers women with disability face in engaging with sport

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.- 2. A History of Basketball for Women.- 3. “Dunking Divas”: Gender, Race and Sexuality (1997-2013).- 4. The “3 to See” and Beyond (2013-).- 5. “Say Her Name”: Activism and Racial Justice.- 6. Playing “Like a Guy”: Game Style, Physicality and Embodiment.- 7. “It’s My Job”: Building a Professional League.- 8. “Bet on Women”: Understanding the Wage Gap.- 9. Conclusion.