Scan barcode
bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
I listened to the audiobook with Billie’s narration, which really added to the emotion of hearing her tell her story. I appreciate how throughly she contextualizes her story in the activism and social turmoil she had live through. I like that she didn’t shy away from discussing her own shortcomings. the ending felt a little unfocused apart from the very last part, but still i great telling of tennis history, women’s liberation, civil rights, lgbtq+ activism, and women’s sports, among other topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Outing
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Racism, and Self harm
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicide, Biphobia, Car accident, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Abortion, and Cursing
sammies_shelf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Abortion, Outing, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
jackelz's review against another edition
informative
reflective
Billie Jean fought for diversity, equity, inclusion on and off the court. She had an incredible tennis career with 39 Grand Slam titles (12 singles, 16 doubles, 11 mixed) and she paved the way for others to follow. She played a hand in the passing of Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in all federally funded school programs, including sports, and she made a racket fighting for equal pay.
“Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top too.”
Some highlights:
- BJK got an abortion in 1971, before it was legal to do so. She needed approval from a hospital committee and her then-husband's signature before the procedure.
- Renée Richards is one of the first professional athletes to identify as transgender. BJK and her played together in one doubles tournament.
- BJK, at age 29, defeated Bobby “No-Broad-Can-Beat-Me” Riggs in the “Battle Of The Sexes” tennis match.
- In 1981, BJK was outed by her ex-lover and live-in assistant Marilyn Barnett, and this severely affected her career and her endorsements.
- BJK openly discussed her binge eating disorder, the prevalence of EDs in athletes, and how this opens the conversation for what athletes go through when they stop competing.
Other favorite quotes:
“As a kid growing up in the 1950s, I accepted the concept of women athletes as freaks. I had been taught that to want to become an athlete of any kind was unacceptable. Girls were passive, non-competitive, dependent.”
“I guess the clearest way I can say it is I didn’t end up a lesbian because of the sex alone—it was a whole constellation of feelings that had to do with connectedness, tenderness, how you experience everything besides sex with another human being. Sometimes sex is the least of it.”
On the Arthur Ashe statue in Richmond, VA — “When Arthur’s statue was originally placed on that boulevard in 1996, opponents argued that he didn’t belong there amid the existing memorials of Confederate icons. Now look. Arthur may outlast them all.”
Random sports fact that blew my mind:
In 2005, Gian Franco Kasper, head of the International Ski Federation, was still saying that women should be banned from Olympic ski jumping because the hard landings might impact their ability to have children. The IOC finally accepted women's ski jumping into the Olympics in 2014. For reference, ski jumping became an Olympic sport in 1924.
“Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top too.”
Some highlights:
- BJK got an abortion in 1971, before it was legal to do so. She needed approval from a hospital committee and her then-husband's signature before the procedure.
- Renée Richards is one of the first professional athletes to identify as transgender. BJK and her played together in one doubles tournament.
- BJK, at age 29, defeated Bobby “No-Broad-Can-Beat-Me” Riggs in the “Battle Of The Sexes” tennis match.
- In 1981, BJK was outed by her ex-lover and live-in assistant Marilyn Barnett, and this severely affected her career and her endorsements.
- BJK openly discussed her binge eating disorder, the prevalence of EDs in athletes, and how this opens the conversation for what athletes go through when they stop competing.
Other favorite quotes:
“As a kid growing up in the 1950s, I accepted the concept of women athletes as freaks. I had been taught that to want to become an athlete of any kind was unacceptable. Girls were passive, non-competitive, dependent.”
“I guess the clearest way I can say it is I didn’t end up a lesbian because of the sex alone—it was a whole constellation of feelings that had to do with connectedness, tenderness, how you experience everything besides sex with another human being. Sometimes sex is the least of it.”
On the Arthur Ashe statue in Richmond, VA — “When Arthur’s statue was originally placed on that boulevard in 1996, opponents argued that he didn’t belong there amid the existing memorials of Confederate icons. Now look. Arthur may outlast them all.”
Random sports fact that blew my mind:
In 2005, Gian Franco Kasper, head of the International Ski Federation, was still saying that women should be banned from Olympic ski jumping because the hard landings might impact their ability to have children. The IOC finally accepted women's ski jumping into the Olympics in 2014. For reference, ski jumping became an Olympic sport in 1924.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Homophobia, and Sexism
Moderate: Eating disorder
More...