Game, Set, Match

by Ware, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780807834541
• ISBN10: 0807834548
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

When Billie Jean King trounced Bobby Riggs in tennis's Battle of the Sexes in 1973, she placed sports squarely at the center of a national debate about gender equity. In this winning combination of biography and history, Susan Ware argues that King's challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a women's sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society. While King did not single-handedly cause the revolution in women's sports, she quickly became one of its most enduring symbols, as did Title IX, a federal law that was initially passed in 1972 to attack sex discrimination in educational institutions but had its greatest impact by opening opportunities for women in sports. King's place in tennis history is secure, and now, withGame, Set, Match, she can take her rightful place as a key player in the history of feminism as well. By linking the stories of King and Title IX, Ware explains why women's sports took off in the 1970s and demonstrates how giving women a sporting chance has permanently changed American life on and off the playing field.

Table of Contents

Prologue The Battle of the Sexes	p. 1
The Making of a Sports Icon	p. 15
In the Meantime The Early Days of Title IX	p. 43
Billie Jean King, Inc. WomenSports, the Women's Sports Foundation, and World Team Tennis	p. 75
Before The Sports Bra A Short History of Women's Sports through the 1970s	p. 117
The Feminist Moment That Wasn't	p. 147
The Perils of Celebrity and Sexuality The Outing of Billie Jean King	p. 179
Epilogue The Incomplete Revolution	p. 207
Notes	p. 215
Acknowledgments	p. 269
Index	p. 273
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.