# Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates - Hardcover

by **Katie Barnes** (Author)

**"\[An\] electrifying debut...Through in-depth and compassionate reporting, Barnes breaks down the misunderstood science surrounding sex and gender that has been used to keep cisgender women out of sports and has fueled debate over trans athletes participation in women's sports."--Shannon Carlin, _TIME  
_magazine, "100 Must-Read Books of 2023"**

For decades women have been playing competitive sports, thanks in large part to the protective cover of Title IX. Since the passage of that law, the number of women participating in sports and the level of competition in high school and college and professionally, has risen dramatically. In _Fair Play_, award-winning journalist Katie Barnes traces the evolution of women's sports as a pastime and a political arena where equality and fairness have been fought over for generations.

As attitudes toward gender have shifted to embrace more fluidity in recent decades, sex continues to be viewed as a static binary that is easily determined: male or female. It is on the very idea of static sex that we have built an entire sporting apparatus. Now that foundation is being hotly debated as a result of intense culture wars. Many transgender and intersex athletes, including a South African runner, a wrestler in Texas, a Connecticut track star, and a swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, have captured the attention of law and policymakers who want to decide how and when they compete. Women's sports, since their inception, have been seen as a separate class of competition that requires protection and rules for entry. But what are those rules and who gets to make them? _Fair Play_ looks at all sides of the issue and presents a reasoned and much-needed solution that seeks to preserve opportunities for all going forward.

### Author Biography

**KATIE BARNES (they/them)** is an award-winning journalist covering the intersection of sports and gender for ESPN. Barnes is a three-time GLAAD Award nominee, a nominee for the prestigious Dan Jenkins Medal, and they were named the 2017 Journalist of the Year by NLGJA - The Association of LGBTQ Journalists. They were an executive producer on "Mack Wrestles," an ESPN _30 for 30_ short documentary that premiered at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival and was shortlisted for awards by Critic's Choice, NY DOCS and the International Documentary Association. This is their first book.

**Number of Pages:** 304

**Dimensions:** 1.1 x 8.4 x 5.6 IN

**Publication Date:** September 19, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 29.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 29.00 USD | In stock |

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- Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates - Hardcover

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