Roller Derby: The History of an American Sport

Abstract

Roller Derby has a long and fascinating history. It began as an endurance fad in the 1930s, a Depression Era entertainment, and then transformed into a full-contact game with an appeal to both in-person spectators and television audiences. Yet it eventually evolved into a women's sport with a feminist do-it-yourself mentality. Michella M. Marino's Roller Derby: The History of an American Sport expertly weaves a chronological story of this trajectory, providing a “contextual history of the sport through a critical feminist lens” (5). This contextualization is bolstered by one of the strongest parts of this text: Marino's use of oral history interviews from a variety of people involved with the sport from a number of different eras.Marino's work, over the course of six chapters, begins with the origins of Roller Derby, founded by Leo Seltzer (also known for promoting dance marathons) in Chicago in 1935. She highlights both the sport and spectacle nature of the pastime. Marino also carefully constructs the sport around one of its unique qualities—the coequal inclusion of women in the sport from its very first contest. As Marino continues the narrative of Roller Derby's history, she explores how television contributed to Roller Derby's boom in the 1940s and 1950s (and later bust), the rejuvenation of the sport in the 1960s and 1970s through its move to California and Jerry Seltzer's (Leo Seltzer's son) takeover, the competition Roller Derby faced from other outfits, such as RollerGames, and finally, concludes with the revival of the sport in 2001 and the formation of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).Perhaps the most important contribution by Marino, though, is her attention to Roller Derby with a critical lens. She illustrates both the positive effect the sport had for women and the ways that traditional disempowering notions of femininity were sometimes reinforced. Unlike most other sports of the time, Roller Derby included women from its earliest iterations. Leo Seltzer believed that women participants would drive female spectators to the sport, expanding the audience. Women continued to play an important role as the sport evolved, often becoming the main attraction. Eventually, in the 2000s, the sport was reintroduced by women looking for “empowerment and opportunity” (164).The Roller Derby rink remained a place committed to equality and nondiscrimination, distinguishing it from other sporting pastimes. Both Leo and Jerry Seltzer did not tolerate discrimination and sought to create an open and supportive environment for all skaters, regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation. Marino skillfully discusses the ways that Roller Derby was different. It provided a place for parents to remain athletes (both mothers and fathers) and even encouraged a family atmosphere, with many skaters bringing their young children on the road with them. Roller Derby also did not suffer from some of the structural racism built into other traditional sports, with Black skaters entering early in the development of Roller Derby, some with great success and stardom. Additionally, Roller Derby also generally accepted gay and lesbian skaters. The younger Seltzer, Jerry, partially attributed the inclusive atmosphere of Roller Derby to the fact that the skaters traveled and lived together—discrimination and abuse would have negatively affected both the aggressor and recipient of harassment.Despite the fact that Marino paints Roller Derby as a relatively progressive part of sport and entertainment history, she does not view it through a rose-colored lens. She underscores that, while Roller Derby organizers and skaters might have been more inclusive and tolerant of Black and gay skaters, these accounts came mostly from white derbyists. Additionally, Black and gay skaters existed in a world where they would have faced racism and other harassment in their everyday lives. Furthermore, Marino works from a critical feminist perspective, emphasizing the ways that traditional notions of femininity were still normalized for skaters (through Roller Derby Queen contests, for example), the ways that female derbyists had to contend with views on beauty and femininity, and, later, how the WFTDA (and its women-centered leadership) had to contend with traditional, male-led international organizations as they fought for governance over the sport.Roller Derby is an exceptional work that not only illuminates the history of a sport that remains on the margins of sport history but also offers a feminist examination that transcends Roller Derby itself. Marino's use of oral histories brings insights otherwise unavailable. Her narrative of Roller Derby, alongside shrewd analysis of the world of sport makes this book an excellent read. This text should be of interest to anyone who is drawn to histories of popular culture, sport as Americana, and women's sport history.