Written by Writing Education Specialist, Sharma Shields
When I was asked to write this blog post and book list about women’s sports, I turned to my husband. Despite being a sprinter and a varsity soccer captain in my youth, sports are not my jam. I far prefer a quiet, contemplative walk in the woods.
But I love my husband Sam’s love of sports, his loyalty to Michigan State—college basketball being his absolute favorite—and all Detroit teams, as well as his interest in, well, all sports and all athletes. While I’ve sat at tables with people who denigrate women athletes—I once had to stomach someone saying, “Why watch women’s sports? They’re so much slower and weaker,”—I’ve noticed since our first years together, the way my husband quietly and actively engages with a far healthier perspective.
Sam keeps tabs on women’s college basketball teams, the WNBA, tennis stars, Olympians, and anyone, regardless of their sport, who excels in their competitive field. He’s why I know about Coco Gauff and Caitlyn Clark and Sha’Carri Richardson and Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd and Natasha Cloud and Isabelle Harrison (he sent me this article about the latter two WNBA players—who also happen to be a couple—over text). And maybe it’s a sign of the misogyny I’ve absorbed lifelong that I find Sam to be an anomaly, but I’m delighted to see his sincere interest and the casual way it presents itself in our daily life. I’m glad my son and daughter see it, too.
When I mentioned to my husband this blog post, saying I feel like he would write a better post on this subject than I could, he responded via text, “That’s a tough assignment. You’re either a sports fan or not. If you like sports but can’t stand to watch women, that’s a different problem you have.”
In other words, my husband loves women’s sports because he loves sports. Period.
As we continued to talk this morning, Sam said he hoped this blog post wouldn’t tokenize the women players. He also didn’t think he should be the focus of the article, and he’s likely right. The focus should be on the women athletes.
But as we see again and again, these athletes are continuing to fight for support and equal pay and basic human rights and protections both on and off the pitch. So what I want to present is a model of what a true sports fan looks like, and who he or she or they watch and uplift: Any person who excels in the competition, who is a compelling figure in the game.
Books for Youth
Ágnes Keleti can forget about the war when she is doing gymnastics—until Jewish athletes are barred from the gym. Never giving up on her dream, her moment of triumph comes at the 1952 Olympics.
Meet thirty-five female athletes who played hard, broke records, and inspired girls around the world. You’ll read about the first woman horse jockey to compete in the Kentucky Derby, the number one tennis player in the world, a surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack, and a snow boarder who landed a death-defying jump, along with many others.
Illustrated profiles of fifty pioneering female athletes, from the author of the New York Times bestseller Women in Science. Women in Sports celebrates the success of the tough, bold, and fearless women who paved the way for the next generation of athletes.”
Women’s Soccer Legends: Stats, Profiles, Top Players by Kevin Pettman
Showcasing the top 100 women soccer players in the modern game, Women’s Soccer Legends offers the latest facts and stats of players in every position who play in the elite leagues. With a star profile on each page, this visually arresting stats book is packed with incisive data and includes stunning heat maps that show the pitch movements of each player.
Books for Adults
Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know about Women by Maggie Mertens
Award-winning sports journalist Maggie Mertens tells the propulsive story of how women broke into competitive running over the last century, getting faster and fiercer with every race and changing our understanding of gender and power in athletics and beyond.
Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates by Katie Barnes
A richly reported and provocative look at the history of women’s sports and the controversy surrounding trans athletes by a leading LGBTQ+ sports journalist.
Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History by Molly Schiot
“Based on the Instagram account @TheUnsungHeroines, a celebration of the pioneering, forgotten female athletes of the twentieth century that features rarely seen photos and new interviews with recent gamechangers including Abby Wambach and Cari Champion.”
Headshot: A Novel by Rita Bullwinkel
An electrifying debut novel about the radical intimacy of physical competition.
I’m that Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams by Jordan Chiles and Felice Laverne
This memoir from the two-time Olympian gymnast chronicles her journey to the awards podium while overcoming racism, childhood trauma and devastating setbacks, highlighting the importance of family support and the resilience of the human spirit.
On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports by Christine Brennan
Drawing on dozens of extensive interviews and exclusive, behind-the-scenes reporting, a veteran journalist narrates Clark’s rise–including the formative experiences that led to her scoring more points than any woman or man in major college basketball history.
Season of the Roses by Chloë Wary, translated by Jenna Allen
Barbara has big goals. As the fiery captain of her U19 soccer team, the Rosigny Roses, she’s determined to win a championship before graduating high school and leaving the grungy Parisian suburbs in the dust…In Season of the Roses, soccer isn’t just a game—it’s all about self-discovery, making bold choices, and standing up to sexism and injustice.
Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik
A groundbreaking history of how women found synchronicity—and power—in water.
The Race to Be Myself: A Memoir by Caster Semenya
Olympian and World Champion Caster Semenya is finally ready to share the vivid and heartbreaking story of how the world came to know her name. Thrust into the spotlight at just eighteen years old after winning the Berlin World Championships in 2009, Semenya’s win was quickly overshadowed by criticism and speculation about her body, and she became the center of a still-raging firestorm about how gender plays out in sports, our expectations of female athletes, and the right to compete as you are.
