Sports Heroines on Film

<p> It's hard to find females in leading roles as athletes coaches and owners in sports film story lines. With an abundance of male-focused stories Hollywood continues to reinforce the association of athleticism with masculinity. Portrayals of women in prominent roles indicate social attitudes and values and--when looked at over time--also show what influence the women's movement has had on cinematic representation and social understandings.</p><p> This discussion of sports film heroines begins with <I>National Velvet</I> (1944) and ends with <I>Secretariat</I> (2010). It addresses the question of whether these story lines do or do not empower women as characters and role models while offering alternative cinematic choices that reflect the true and ever-growing history of women in sports.</p>