Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport

""""This is without a doubt the most informed, insightful, engaging and detailed work on lesbian experiences in sport.""" Don Sabo, PhD Professor, D'Youville College, Buffalo, NY """In this ground-breaking book, Pat Griffin brings the shameful consequences of the long-standing and deep-seated association between women's sports and lesbianism out of the closet without shaming anyone in the process.""" Mary Jo Kane Director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport University of Minnesota "

Former athlete and coach Pat Griffin makes a provocative and impassioned call for attention to a topic too long avoided by women's sports advocates. In Strong Women, Deep Closets, she provides a critical analysis of discrimination and prejudice against lesbians in sport. The book is the first to explore the lesbian sporting experience as well as examine homophobia and heterosexism in women's sport. The work is based on theoretical and historical foundations and is written in an academic yet engaging style. Griffin brings to light the experiences of lesbian coaches and athletes in their own words. Strong Women, Deep Closets concludes with Griffin's assessment of the current state of lesbians' rights in athletics, set against the overall social picture in the United States. The author lists obstacles lesbian athletes face in transforming sports and details numerous personal and political strategies for leveling the playing field.