The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football: Book Reviews

What readers and reviewers had to say about the book

Robert Lipsyte, New York Times
"Nelson writes with knees and elbows flying. Powerful, provocative, smart, important, touching, fascinating."

Library Journal
"Nelson has hit a home run. When it comes to popular sociology of women’s sports, nobody does it better."

Dallas Morning News
"This is an important book because Ms. Nelson has accomplished what all authors strive for: to allow the reader to see a subject in a whole new way."

San Francisco Examiner
"It leaves readers with a familiar sense of connection and outrage -- especially women who remember having to practice in the small gym. Had Backlash author Susan Faludi been an athlete, she might have written this book."

The Women’s Review of Books
"Readable, lively, and witty. Revolutionary. Not only about men’s violence but also about female love, growth, and empowerment through sports."

USA Today
"After reading this book, I don’t believe you can pick up a sports section or watch televised sports coverage without a more critical eye."

Philadelphia Inquirer
“Nelson does not shy away from the hard questions; she does not insist on ‘politically correct’ answers. She doesn’t hedge.”

Kirkus Reviews
"To her exploration of violence and sexuality in masculine sports, Nelson brings formidable journalistic skills, a sharp anecdotal style, and incisive logic… She offers cogent interpretations of the soap-opera quality of ``sports talk,'' the sexual language of sport itself, ``dominance bonding,'' or identifying with powerful symbols, the role of college sports in gang rape, the unhealthy dimensions of male coaches training female athletes, and an exceptionally funny and poignant chapter on female journalists in male locker rooms (with some great explanations of why men do not like to be seen nude)."

Oxygen Media
The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports… is a blend of personal testimonies mixed with historical evidence from lawsuits, studies of rape counsels, confessions of players and coaches, and many other pieces of history that help readers understand why female athletes are kept in an inferior position to male athletes."

Arlington Courier
"Readers of The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football might expect simmering fury, but the 38-year-old Nelson in person is all about self-possession, ironic wit, and just a trace of competitive edge."

Entertainment Weekly
“I’ve always had my suspicions rate stage set” to allow homophobic men to worship their maleness while indulging in horrifying behavior toward women."

Footnotes
“Nelson is a witty, conversational writer who has also bothered to do her homework. A wonderful new book.”

GirlJock
“Nelson’s new book is one I am daring people to read.”

Grand Rapids Press
“With each verbal jab that Nelson lands squarely hear the roar of the female athletic crowd and feel the surge on the jaw of athletic sexism and injustice, readers can almost hear the roar of the female athletic crowd and feel the surge of adrenaline”

Washington City Paper
“Feminist avenger Mariah Burton Nelson is as devoted to shattering the gender line in sports as Jackie Robinson was the breaking the color line in baseball.”

Ms. Magazine
“Nelson successfully illustrates the connection between men’s love of sports and their resistance to women’s pursuit of power.”

Fans of Women’s Sports
“Nelson not only has the vision to see what’s going on in women’s and men’s sports, she has the guts to tell us about it.”

The Portland Oregonian
“Intriguing... A rare book that can change the way the reader views the world. Provocative reading, whether you love sports or generally ignore them.”

The Daily News, Nova Scotia
“Men won’t like this book - not because it questions men’s tendencies toward violence, brutality, and domination, but because it does so in sports context. ...This is a great book. Great for women, and great for men.”

Rush Limbaugh
"She's a feminazi!"

Deirdre Bair, author of Simone de Beauvoir
"Mariah Burton Nelson's book is all home runs, touchdowns, goals, and aces. Her searing appraisal of all-American pastimes and wonderfully witty indictment of the various businesses that masquerade as 'sport' make me want to get out there and revolutionize all sorts of leagues of my own."

Catharine MacKinnon, law professor
"Relentlessly pointed and deep and devastating and funny, Nelson combines what your body knows with cogent analysis and sharp critique. Her account of her own abuse, and confronting her abuser, is particularly gripping. This book nails football. And makes a woman want to get out there and move!" –

Vikki Krane, Director, Women's Studies; Professor, Sport Psychology, Bowling Green State University
I have used "The Stronger Women Get..." in my Sport and Gender class in the past and continue to use select chapters now. I am very excited that you are updating it and look forward to using the new edition in the future. The students really like your writing style and I appreciate how well it is grounded in the research and that it includes so many great examples."

Michael Messner, USC sport sociology professor; author, Power at Play
"A powerful and moving critique of the meanings and consequences of men's love of football. I wish that for one Monday night, men would turn off their television and instead read this book."

Donna Lopiano, executive director, Women's Sports Foundation
"Essential reading for everyone who loves sports and cares about how it affects our children. Mariah Burton Nelson presents a compelling case for changing the male sports culture. You will be shocked at what we are teaching our male athletes."

Andrea Dworkin, author, Intercourse
"This is an incredibly astute, brave, and important expose: of sports, of money, of sex, of gender, of a double standard that protects male violence against women as a badge of courage."

Eleanor Smeal, President, The Feminist Majority Foundation
"A must-read for all sports enthusiasts, female and male, and for all women and girls who long for a level playing field with men and boys."

Ellen Bass, author, The Courage to Heal
"Fascinating even to the non-sports person: information-packed, intelligent, and funny."

From amazon.com's reader reviews

"This book does a great job of describing many of the obstacles faced by female athletes. It has greatly helped me redefine my athletic goals and understand what I may encounter as I continue my athletic pursuits."

"This book is truly enlightening. While I know some of her claims are contestable (as all theory is), I still want to sew her thoughts into my brain so they will be available for instant access and referral. I have always been wary of our sports culture; Nelson tells me why. Nelson in no way condemns athletics or sports, but rather the sexism that has evolved around American sports culture, and the possible reasons for this evolution. Unfortunately I know that this book would not be palatable for many sports fans; for that reason it is so utterly poignant."

"I discovered this book only recently and it is a remarkable work. Nelson eloquently describes many of the obstacles of sexism that remain in women's sports today. While much progress has been made, many inequities remain as she clearly reports. While this book was initially published in 1994, it is still very relevant. The disparities in the money made by elite female athletes when compared to elite male athletes remain vast and disturbing. All feminists who also love sports will love this book."

"Nelson's book confirmed what I'd long suspected: as women have gradually broken through one glass ceiling after another, men have retreated into sports as the last bastion of traditional masculinity. But for those who claim that this is harmless male bonding and dismiss its critics as man-haters, Nelson shows the darker side: high school athletes who rape with impunity, glorification of mindless violence, and perpetuation of a concept of "masculinity" defined by behavior that would make a Neanderthal blush. Awareness of the problem is more than half the battle, and she's certainly done an excellent job of that! Every parent in America should read this book."

"Nelson has an incredible way to convince, inform and provide insight to readers. The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football is an eye-opening book that leaves readers wanting more and wondering what affect sports can have on their lives. This book is a constant on my most-read list."