South Asian American men are not usually depicted as ideal American men. They struggle against popular representations as either threatening terrorists or geeky, effeminate computer geniuses. To combat such stereotypes, some use sports as a means of performing a distinctly American masculinity. Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on South Asian-only basketball leagues common in most major U.S. and Canadian cities, to show that basketball, for these South Asian American players is not simply a whimsical hobby, but a means to navigate and express their identities in 21st century America. The participation of young men in basketball is one platform among many for performing South Asian American identity. South Asian-only leagues and tournaments become spaces in which to negotiate the relationships between masculinity, race, and nation. When faced with stereotypes that portray them as effeminate, players perform sporting feats on the court to represent themselves as athletic. And though they draw on black cultural styles, they carefully set themselves off from African American players, who are deemed “too aggressive.” Accordingly, the same categories of their own marginalization—masculinity, race, class, and sexuality—are those through which South Asian American men exclude women, queer masculinities, and working-class masculinities, along with other racialized masculinities, in their effort to lay claim to cultural citizenship. One of the first works on masculinity formation and sport participation in South Asian American communities, Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on an American popular sport to analyze the dilemma of belonging within South Asian America in particular and in the U.S. in general.

South Asian American men are not usually depicted as ideal American men. They struggle against popular representations as either threatening terrorists or geeky, effeminate computer geniuses. To combat such stereotypes, some use sports as a means of performing a distinctly American masculinity. Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on South Asian-only basketball leagues common in most major U.S. and Canadian cities, to show that basketball, for these South Asian American players is not simply a whimsical hobby, but a means to navigate and express their identities in 21st century America. The participation of young men in basketball is one platform among many for performing South Asian American identity. South Asian-only leagues and tournaments become spaces in which to negotiate the relationships between masculinity, race, and nation. When faced with stereotypes that portray them as effeminate, players perform sporting feats on the court to represent themselves as athletic. And though they draw on black cultural styles, they carefully set themselves off from African American players, who are deemed “too aggressive.” Accordingly, the same categories of their own marginalization—masculinity, race, class, and sexuality—are those through which South Asian American men exclude women, queer masculinities, and working-class masculinities, along with other racialized masculinities, in their effort to lay claim to cultural citizenship. One of the first works on masculinity formation and sport participation in South Asian American communities, Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on an American popular sport to analyze the dilemma of belonging within South Asian America in particular and in the U.S. in general.

Examines the significance of sports in the lives of diasporic Filipino Americans Organized sports have occupied a central place in Filipino American life since US colonialism began in the Philippines in 1898. For Filipino diasporas in the United States, sports are important cultural sites through which men and women cultivate a sense of ethnic community and belonging to the American national fabric. Sports studies focused on Asian America have tended to focus on East Asians, largely ignoring Filipinos. Thus, we know very little about how sports work as critical arenas to understand larger questions about Filipino identity formations, racialization, gender dynamics, diasporic contours, and post-colonial sporting cultures. This book offers an in-depth ethnographic examination of the significance of sports to the lives of Filipino Americans under the shadow of US empire and neocolonial inequities. Through a close examination of Filipino American sporting cultures—from boxing and the Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao phenomenon to men’s basketball leagues to women’s flag football—this book shows how engagements with sports reveal the shifting nature of Filipino Americanness and Filipino American subjectivity. Drawing on over four years of data collected in Southern California, Las Vegas, Urbana-Champaign, and Arlington, Constancio R. Arnaldo, Jr. documents the intimate connections among Filipino American sports, transnationalism, and diasporic belonging. Filipino American Sporting Cultures adds an important voice to the body of work using sports as a lens to look at US culture and communities of color.

A thought-provoking exploration of how basketball—and the values rooted in the game—can solve today’s most pressing issues, from the professor behind the popular New York University course NBA and WNBA superstars, Hall of Fame players, coaches, and leading cultural figures have all dropped by New York University Professor David Hollander’s course “How Basketball Can Save the World” course to debate and give insights on how the underlying principles of the game can provide a new blueprint for addressing our diverse challenges and showing what’s possible beyond the court. Now, in How Basketball Can Save the World, Hollander takes us out of the classroom to present a beautiful new philosophy with contributions by many of his past guests and based on values inherent to basketball, such as inclusion and the balancing of individual success with the needs of the collective. These principles move us beyond conflict and confusion toward a more harmonious and meaningful future: Positionless-ness: In basketball, players aren’t siloed into just one position or responsibility. In life, we can learn to be more adaptive to the challenges we face by embracing a positionless mindset. Human Alchemy: We talk a lot about team chemistry, but team alchemy means the creation of something totally new—a team far greater than the sum of its parts. Sanctuary: Basketball offers players a critical space to feel safe, free, and expressive. Fostering similar spaces in the real world can encourage people to be their best, happiest, and most productive selves. Transcendence: Basketball is about defying gravity, becoming weightless, and flying higher than anyone ever has before. By seeking out this principle, we can elevate ourselves and those around us to a new plane of experience. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the game or have never set foot on a court, How Basketball Can Save the World will empower you to become more resilient, tolerant, and wise in your relationship with yourself, others, and the world around you.

Transnational Sport in the American West is the story of how a sport can cross physical and cultural borders. Catholic missionaries first brought the sport of basketball to southern Mexico in the early twentieth century, but over time the sport has grown into a cultural tradition in states like Oaxaca (Wa-hak-a). The ball bounced across the Mexico/U.S. border into Los Angeles, CA during the 1970s and pick-up games in the park eventually became organized tournaments. In 1977, an annual tournament called the Benito Juárez Cup was established in Guelatao, Oaxaca to celebrate the culture of basketball in the region and to honor former president of Mexico, Benito Juárez. Now, generations of youth from the U.S. travel to Oaxaca to play in the tournament. Follow the story of three youth who describe their culture and the significance the sport of basketball has played in their life. They have different experiences based on age, gender, skill, and birthplace but they all have one thing in common. Basketball is a part of them, and although the sport can be played many different ways, this is their game.

Women worldwide are making their presence felt as sport fans in rapidly increasing numbers. This book makes a distinctive and innovative contribution to the study of sport fandom by exploring the growing visibility and interest in women who follow sport. It presents the latest data on women’s sport spectatorship in different regions of the world, posing new theoretical paradigms to study the globalised nature of female sport fandom. This book goes beyond conventional approaches to analysing the practices of women sport fans. By using a critical feminist perspective to investigate cultural conditions and social contexts (including globalisation, digital networked technologies, consumerism, neoliberalism and postfeminism), it brings into view a diversity of women’s voices and experiences as sport fans. It sheds new light on the power dynamics of gender, ethnicity and sexuality influencing women’s participation in sport spectatorship and interrogates the ways female sport fandom is made visible through transnational media networks. Women Sport Fans: Identification, Participation, Representation is fascinating reading for all those interested in sport and gender, the sociology of sport, or women’s studies.

The Postcolonial Sporting Body considers the future not only of sport, but of global politics and identity in a world striving towards greater equity and decolonisation.