Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Sport gathers more spectators on a global basis than any other activity today, yet it is widely regarded as being outside the dominant political and social systems. Varda Burstyn challenges this view, showing not only that sport generates an elitist, masculinist account of power and social order, but that it is central to the constitution of political power in contemporary life." "Combining some of the best insights of feminist theory with the perspectives of history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, and cultural criticism, this book brings a new dimension to sport as a subject for serious scholarship."--Jacket.