Women and Sport in the 1990s: Reflections on “Embracing Stars, Ignoring Players“

Abstract

Numerous scholars have assessed the status of women in sport during the last decade of the 20th century (Acosta & Carpenter, 2000; Andrews, 1998; Borcila, 2000; Cole, 2000; Eastman & Billings, 1999; McDonald, 1999; Starr & Brant, 1999). Perhaps the nineties can be best characterized by the familiar Dickens adage that “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” At a time when the 1999 U.S. Women's soccer team captured the World Cup and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) enjoyed increasing popularity, it seemed that women's sports were never more visible. So, how could this be the worst of times? While women now receive heretofore-unprecedented coverage, evidence suggests that certain images continue to be privileged over others. In this paper, we assess the current status of women in sport in light of an article that appeared on the subject a decade earlier.