Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport

Figure skating is generally considered an effete sport, so readers will be surprised to learn that it was originally practiced almost exclusively by men. Adams looks at the issue of how skating came to be considered a sport for women and the effects this has had on the discipline as a whole. This is a matter of serious concern for people who love skating and fear that its reputation as a sport for women discourages young men from taking it up. Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport is the first book to take a serious scholarly look at how gender is conceived within the skating community and how this affects the sport. Adams succeeds masterfully in depicting the challenges presented to the sport by its artificially constrained conception of what constitutes masculinity and femininity. The book is well researched and its claims are well documented. It's quite simply a treasure trove for fans of skating who are interested in this issue, as well as for sociologists and others who are interested in gender issue more generally. What is more, it's a good read and that is a rarity among scholarly works. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

I'm really amazing to this author to integrate based knowledge, expertise, and sport (figure skating) together.It's really hard to find reliable text kind of academic information for this sport. I'm also really happy with this item even I can refer only very few sentences in my work.

Very insightful analysis of the development of place occupied by figure skating in the cultural landscape since its inception, in particular its evolution from a pastime activity for upper-class men to the competitive female-dominated sport it is today. In addition, the author presents a very complete and carefully documented history of figure skating, compiling citations from hundreds of sources spanning more than 200 years.

Excellent writing. Academic but easily understood. Fascinating account of the evolution of skating from “manly” pastime to “ feminine” sport.

Though written for a popular audience, the authors scholarly approach shines through. This is a fascinating exploration of the history of figure skating through the lenses of gender and sexuality. Well worth the read.

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'Artistic Impressions' is a gripping, persuasive thriller of a book!I was really excited by the time I came to the end, and absolutely agreed with the book's conclusion (but I'm not going to spoil things by saying here what it is!) - reading the book made me want to dive back into skating, just so that I could voice Marie Louise Adams' arguments and growl at the horrible people that used to growl at me.I think this is a really marvellous contribution to the understanding of gender-patterns in sport and society in general, what they mean to the individuals involved as well as to the organisations which ought to be seeking to respond sensitively and constructively to them, and to my own personal understanding of 'who I am' and how I'm entitled to behave.I look forward to reading more from this excellent author!

Brilliant book.