Game, Set, Match : Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports

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, with __Game, 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.

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, with Game, 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.

Contents......Page 7 PROLOGUE: The Battle of the Sexes......Page 14 1 THE MAKING OF A SPORTS ICON......Page 28 2 IN THE MEANTIME: The Early Days of Title IX......Page 56 3 BILLIE JEAN KING, INC.: women Sports, the Women's Sports Foundation, and World Team Tennis......Page 88 4 BEFORE THE SPORTS BRA: A Short History of Women’s Sports through the 1970s......Page 130 5 THE FEMINIST MOMENT THAT WASN’T......Page 160 6 THE PERILS OF CELEBRITY AND SEXUALITY: The Outing of Billie Jean King......Page 192 EPILOGUE: The Incomplete Revolution......Page 220 NOTES......Page 228 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 282 B......Page 286 E......Page 287 J......Page 288 K......Page 289 N......Page 291 S......Page 292 T......Page 293 W......Page 294 Z......Page 295 The Battle of the Sexes The making of a sports icon In the meantime : the early days of Title IX Billie Jean King, Inc. : womenSports, the Women's Sports Foundation, and World Team tennis Before the sports bra : a short history of women's sports through the 1970s The Feminist Movement that wasn't The perils of celebrity and sexuality : the outing of Billie Jean King The incomplete revolution.