Women in football was a natural offshoot of my long time interest in the duality of women participating in sports, jobs and activities that go against stereotypical views of what a woman should do or be. There are many sports that women are expected or encouraged to play, but many of the more physical contact sports that men easily inhabit are often not seen as “acceptable” for women. Sports such as roller derby and football are as much a societal as an athletic rebellion and revolution.

The spectrum between women involved in traditional gridiron football and the more scantily-clad adapted version, also gave me the opportunity to examine a sport that rather dramatically desexualizes women as much as the other sport dramatically sexualizes them—an aesthetic and mental difference that is no small source of friction between the two sports, particularly as they often compete to attract the same players. What I quickly learned, and that any acute observer can see is that both sports are for aggressive athletes who train and strive to compete at the highest athletic levels.