When Women Rule the Court

NICOLE WILLMS is an assistant professor of sociology at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

“Willms has combined solid research with clear prose to craft an exemplary study that is smart in execution and fresh in its perspective. When Women Rule the Court is unlike any other on the market and will make contributions to multiple fields." - C. Richard King (author of Redskins: Insult and Brand) "Willms provides a meaning-laden sporting milieu with multi-generational investments, complex social formations, and kinship networks of Japanese American basketball that complicates femininity, ethnicity, ability, and nation. This book challenges hyper-hetero-masculinized readings of sport through spectacular athletes and everyday sporting cultures." - Stanley Thangaraj (author of Desi Hoop Dreams: Pickup Basketball and the Making of Asian American Masculinity) "This book will make a strong contribution to multiple fields. It will inspire discussions about the intersection of gender and race, the process of racialization and the production of ethnic identity through sport, and the role of iconic female sporting stars in the empowerment of young girls." (Gender & Society) "Willm takes us through how her sociological imagination for the J-Leagues was ignited leading to her becoming enthralled with Japanese American women’s basketball in California....A very good depiction of a subculture and how it has grown and endured....Recommend[ed]...to anybody interested in basketball, not only scholars involved in the sociology of sport." (Idrottsforum) “Willms has combined solid research with clear prose to craft an exemplary study that is smart in execution and fresh in its perspective. When Women Rule the Court is unlike any other on the market and will make contributions to multiple fields." - C. Richard King (author of Redskins: Insult and Brand) "Willms provides a meaning-laden sporting milieu with multi-generational investments, complex social formations, and kinship networks of Japanese American basketball that complicates femininity, ethnicity, ability, and nation. This book challenges hyper-hetero-masculinized readings of sport through spectacular athletes and everyday sporting cultures." - Stanley Thangaraj (author of Desi Hoop Dreams: Pickup Basketball and the Making of Asian American Masculinity) "This book will make a strong contribution to multiple fields. It will inspire discussions about the intersection of gender and race, the process of racialization and the production of ethnic identity through sport, and the role of iconic female sporting stars in the empowerment of young girls." (Gender & Society) "Willm takes us through how her sociological imagination for the J-Leagues was ignited leading to her becoming enthralled with Japanese American women’s basketball in California....A very good depiction of a subculture and how it has grown and endured....Recommend[ed]...to anybody interested in basketball, not only scholars involved in the sociology of sport." (Idrottsforum)

• Introduction: “This Is What We Do”1 “Everybody Plays”: The Inclusiveness of J-League Basketball        2 "In JA Circles, Girls And Boys Are On Equal Footing”: The (Re)negotiation of Gender in J-League Basketball                                                                                                             3 “Women Who Took Sports Beyond Play”: How Japanese American Women’s Basketball Went to College                                                                                                                              4 “We’re Turning Them Into Stars!” The Japanese American Female Basketball Player as Icon      5 “You Play Basketball?” Ruling The Court as An Unexpected Athlete                     6 Conclusion: “It’s A Testament of What The Japanese Leagues Can Do for Young Girls”Acknowledgements                                                         Methodological Appendix   Notes                                                                                                 Bibliography                                                                                                                   Index