Critique de CHOICE

In this thought-provoking collaboration, sociologists Milner (Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham) and Braddock (Univ. of Miami) use the educational equity policies of Title IX and Brown v. Board of Education to build both legal and sociological arguments for sex integration in sports. In the first three chapters the authors review familiar information regarding Title IX and Brown in order to build the foundation for their primary argument, which is that these actions--though meant to establish equal education opportunities--resulted in different outcomes regarding "separate but equal." Chapters 4 and 5 are especially strong, detailing the socially constructed concepts of sex and race while flipping gender ideology to approach this familiar material in a fresh way. The arguments in these chapters support the final two (more controversial) chapters, in which the authors call for the sex integration of all sports (the inherent difficulties notwithstanding), claiming several benefits for women, men, and society. To accomplish this, the authors make policy recommendations based on equality of opportunity, not representation. These recommendations are broad and slightly confusing but ultimately lead to a book that will promote discussion about the possibilities of sex integration in sport. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Amanda Curtis, Lake Erie College