LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field: Striving for Equality By Kirstin Cronn-Mills
June 1 2016 LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality
This was definitely very moving and inspirational I strongly suggest this book as it was a great read LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality I found this book a bit tame after all of the compilation books I have been reading lately Kirstin Cronn Mills and Alex Jackson Nelson give straight forward information about the history of rainbows in sports as they came to light to the world I would have preferred a personal look LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field is a great reference book for anyone who needs to look up an athlete or date something happened LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality This is a great book about LGBTQ athletes In the past athletes were often afrain to come out for fear of retribution.
Hope is found in the past fir present and future athletes who identify as lesbian gay bisexual questioning queen or other In clear readable text the author details prejudices faced by athletes whose gender identity does not conform with their biological sex are romantically and sexually attracted to individuals of the same gender or are questioning their gender identity and sexual orientation In an effort to help break down these prejudices multiple examples of LGBTQ athletes are presentedThe positive tone and multitude of examples create optimistic belief that LGBTQ athletes will be able to be true to themselves while competing in their chosen sport Kirkus but these days and athletes are coming out It s great that people finally are comfortable to be exactly who they are In this book there are stories of athletes in nearly every sport who have been brave enough to share their story with the world The best part of this book is the open letter from a gay college football player encouraging others to be brave While many should read this few will be brave enough to pick it up LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality Know that you are brave enough strong enough and that you are not alone Eric Lueshen p. 83 It takes courage for people to name their true gender identity or to admit that they are struggling to figure it out When they do tell us it s important that we believe them even if we don t understand As a culture we need to get better at saying to transgender individuals Your identity is important to me and I trust you when you tell me who you are Alex Jackson Nelson p. 49I picked up this book from my local library without a lot of thought I was gathering a mixed assortment of LGBTQ books to read over my winter break and this one happened to catch my eye So I checked it out expecting a mere factual book touching on a few LGBTQ ideas This book caught me totally off guard in the absolute best way possible Never did I expect when I began reading this book that it would turn into for me a prime example of LGBTQ non fiction both presenting its information about its subject and advocating for continued acceptance all while touching on other subjects which often intersect with an LGBTQ identity I noticed other comments indicating that it was low on Bisexual representation and this is true Despite listings for gay male athletes and lesbian athletes in the index bisexuality has no references that I could see So in that and in many other respects such as gender fluidity there is a lot of progress that can be made in the discussion of this topic. Yet I think that what this book has set out to do and has accomplished on a grand scale is to publish a relatively brief history and overview of LGBTQ identified people in the world of sports and how their identities affected their experiences For many of course the answer was negatively and there are in this book many heartbreaking tales of athletes who in being true to themselves were ostracized prevented from following their passions Still others talk about how they were given no choice how they were outed often by the media and the ways that this left them feeling for many depressed and suicidal having no control over their stories they felt empty. But those that make the heart soar are those that overcome these obstacles that bounce back from being outed to compete and succeed and often to own their identity Tales often much modern though not all of athletes far pre empting any chance of being outed by coming out themselves on their own terms in tremendous acts of bravery More heartwarming still are those who were accepted by their teammates coaches and fans with open arms. Moreover this book does a tremendous job with transgender and intersex struggles talking about the atrocities past athletes had to facethe hoops through which they had to jump to compete if they were able to compete at all The struggles which many today still face This is a book about athletics This is also a book about LGBTQ issues and how they interact with athletics You by no means need to have an understanding of either of those things to read this book made accessible to all readers And even than just LGBTQ issues this book takes on how race and gender disability and economic status where you live and how you grew up can affect LGBTQ issues and vice versa This intersectionality is the true path to a better understanding This book will leave your heart soaring with hope for the future while reflecting on the past and mourning those who were lost on the way all the while celebrating these brave people people with stories varied and complex different in all respects yet connected by a common thread of existence Read this book and celebrate their lives Celebrate the lives of those now in the past whose legacy we carry into the future Celebrate the lives of those in the present who are still living out their tale still facing adversity everyday and who will continue to persist And celebrate the lives of those to come those in the future for whom we work to lay a foundation of acceptance so that they need not face the discrimination that many already have LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality Short and easy to read This was informative and thought provoking LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality The writing is fine with some interesting athletes and sports highlighted throughout A user friendly design with good sidebars and images along with good back matter. However there aren t and Q or B athletes in here unless you could the potential B athlete outed because of an affair There is a big focus on the T here which is GREAT but it s a little disingenuous to name a book after the entire acronym and not cover the entire thing There is nothing at all about queerness or its meaning here and the one example of gender fluidity is in a sidebar and a bit brushed over. A fine start but there s a lot that could be said LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality written by Kirstin Cronn Mills a well developed and executed description of LGBTQ athletes since the 1930s their experiences and how they changed their sports The five chapters discuss athletics at all levels youth young adult college and professional as well as the organizations that govern each level from differences at the youth level to the changes which have occurred at the international an Olympic level Included are those well known athletes such as Billie Jean King as well as those lesser athletes such as Schuyler Bailar Both success stories as well as failures to reach their athletic dreams are included Interviews and photos support this pro LGBTQ offering which names homophobic coaches and leaders often stating their job loss or other eventual consequence for their actions Included are a timeline glossary bibliography and list of other resources for further information Overall a nice introduction for middle or high school students who are inquiring about LGBTQ students athletes or how the topic may affect them personally LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality I was really hoping this book would be something special as LGBTQ athletes have been in the forefront of American culture ever since Caitlyn Jenner came out a little over a year ago and even before that when Michael Sam was drafted by the NFL But I ll have to keep waiting for a good book about LGBTQ identifying athletes because this isn t it. First and foremost despite LGBTQ being right in the title and used as the only community acronym throughout there is no mention of any athlete fitting into the B or Q There is a heavy focus especially on trans athletes and there s even a bit of information about intersex athletes but nothing about bisexual or queer identifying athletes. For a book just 80 pages long that s pretty sad to skip over two identities your book purports to shed light on and to not present anything we can t find elsewhere LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality Since one of the authors grew up seen as a girl but inside a boy transgender he didn t even know trans athletes existed So to help youths in the LGBTQ community who are going through the same thing Alex Jackson Nelson worked with Kristin Cronn Mills to create this anthology. The one thing I didn t agree on in this book is the inclusion of churches in the homophobia transphobia and misogyny area of the book Churches have different beliefs based on their holy writings God etc I don t think that religious conviction counts as any of those because I don t think religious conviction is hatred There are radicals who are the exception but not the general church population Covering such topics as short coming out stories fan perceptions product endorsements coaches and managers the Gay Games HIV AIDS Pro sports and college sports social media concerns about competitive advantage gender verification policies at different levels and within different organizations work place policies and lawsuits this book packs a whole lot of punch It would be great to add to a collection for high schools or public libraries The layout is really patron friendly Lots of pictures good line spacing nice margins and color in the photos and text makes this a gorgeous non fiction book something not see often enough Trust me The Open letter from a gay college football player to closeted athletes was beautiful encouraging and realistic It s exactly what I would like to hand my patrons even if they are not gay or not athletes It was just stunning and a great reminder to try to see the person for who they are rather than what you THINK they will be like As a librarian I love the inclusion of a timeline index and source notes These will really help my students as they complete research reports A glossary selected bibliography huge list of sources for further information just sweetens the deal We will be adding this book to our collection next school year LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality Listen Be an ally Be accepting Be supportive Be respectful Educate yourself This book is a great start on the education front The good news is that we can all play a role in ending prejudice and discrimination by getting to know LGBTQ people and transforming societal thinking that creates prejudices Alex Jackson Nelson LGBTQ Athletes Claim the Field Striving for Equality
| LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field: Striving for Equality By Kirstin Cronn-Mills |
| 146778012X |
| 104 |