The former NFL quarterback examines the roots of masculinity gone awry and how it promotes violence against women. In You Throw Like a Girl, former Syracuse University quarterback and NFL veteran Don McPherson examines how the narrow definition of masculinity adversely impacts women and creates many “blind spots” that hinder the healthy development of men. Dissecting the strict set of beliefs and behaviors that underpin our understanding of masculinity, he contends that we don’t raise boys to be men, we raise them not to be women. Using examples from his own life, including his storied football career, McPherson passionately argues that viewing violence against women as a “women’s issue” not just ignores men’s culpability but conflates the toxicity of men’s violence with being male. In You Throw Like a Girl, McPherson leads us beyond the blind spots and toward solutions, analyzing how we can engage men in a sustained dialogue, with a new set of terms that are aspirational and more accurately representative of the emotional wholeness of men. “One of the most important books ever written by a former elite male athlete.” —Jackson Katz, author of The Macho Paradox “An essential exploration of what’s holding men and sports back—and how to overcome it.” —The Washington Post “Don McPherson is a quarterback for a wider community.” —Newsday “A crucial read for anyone interested in learning more about how sports culture informs limited definitions of masculinity, and how such definitions are destructive for boys and men, and dangerous to girls and women.” —The Undefeated (A Can’t Miss Book of 2019)

Miss Congeniality meets She’s the Man in this hilarious M!X novel about a girl torn between competing in a beauty pageant and playing on the boy’s baseball team. Gabby’s summer vacation isn’t shaping up to be that great. Her dad was just deployed overseas, and Gabby is staying at her grandmother’s house with her mom and baby sister until he returns. The one bright spot is that Gaby plans to sign up for the local softball league—her greatest love and a passion she shares with her Dad who was a pitcher in college. But when Gabby goes to sign up for the summer league, she discovers that there wasn’t enough interest to justify a girl’s team this year. And to top it off, a horrible miscommunication ends with Gabby signed up to participate in the Miss Popcorn Festival—the annual pageant that Gabby’s mom dominated when she was younger. Besides not having any interest in the pageant life, Gabby made a promise to her dad that she would play softball for the summer. Since her pitching skills rival any boy her age, Gabby creates a master plan: disguise herself as a boy and sign up for the boy’s baseball team instead—and try to win the pageant to make Mom happy. Can Gabby juggle perfecting her pageant walk and perfecting her fastball? Or will this plan strike out?

Friday Night Lightsmeets Morgan Matson's The Unexpected Everything in this contemporary debut where swoonworthy romance meets underdog sports story. When softball star Liv Rodinsky throws one ill-advised punch during the most important game of the year, she loses her scholarship to her fancy private school, her boyfriend, and her teammates all in one fell swoop. With no other options, Liv is forced to transfer to the nearest public school, Northland, where she'll have to convince its coach she deserves a spot on the softball team, all while facing both her ex and the teammates of the girl she punched... Every. Single. Day. Enter Grey, the injured star quarterback with amazing hair and a foolproof plan: If Liv joins the football team as his temporary replacement, he'll make sure she gets a spot on the softball team in the spring. But it will take more than just a flawless spiral for Liv to find acceptance in Northland's halls, and behind that charismatic smile, Grey may not be so perfect after all. With lovable characters and a charming quarterback love interest, Throw Like a Girl will have readers swooning from the very first page.

The evidence is overwhelming: sports help girls grow into strong women. Both scientific studies and anecdotal evidence confirm that athletic girls not only grow up to be healthier; they learn teamwork, gain inner confidence, and grow into society's leaders. Sports help preteen and teenage girls make the right choices in a society that is sending them incredibly mixed messages about who they are supposed to be. Yet no one is speaking directly to these girls. Jennie fills the role of girlfriend, big sister, team captain, and mentor. A smart, credible, and accomplished voice from an athlete who is strong and feminine, fiercely competitive, and fashionably cool, Jennie is someone young women will listen to and take to heart. Jennie's message: Believe in yourself. Go for it, girls.

A high school girls life is transformed when she joins a softball team

A thought-provoking journey into the complicated history of gender, sexuality, race, and social justice through the world of sports. Have you ever wondered why most cheerleaders are girls? Or why some athletes, like Caster Semenya, have to prove they’re women while there’s no testing for men? And why do athletes like Megan Rapinoe and Colin Kaepernick use sports as a platform for social justice, and should they? These questions and more are examined in Throw Like a Girl, Cheer Like a Boy: The Evolution of Gender, Identity, and Race in Sports. Robyn Ryle uses the world of sports to examine the history, controversy, and current conversations around sexuality, race, and social justice, bringing in the stories of today’s athletes to highlight the issues. Topics covered include gender segregation, gender testing, transgender athletes, sexuality, homophobia, globalization, race, and activism. Throw Like a Girl, Cheer Like a Boy shows the great strides that have been made in the sports world, but there are still questions that remain and work that needs to be done. This book brings to attention the ways in which sports can contribute to inequalities while also demonstrating how sports can help create a more just world for everyone.

Think your way to a more confident, successful you. Women's brains are different. It's not one-size-fits both men and women. Yet many women still believe the myths we tell ourselves. Myth: Women make emotional decisions when stressed. Myth: Women suffer more from unhappiness than men. Myth: Women have to act like men to be effective leaders. Dispel the myths! Stop underestimating your abilities. Stop downplaying your successes. And stop apologizing. In Think Like a Girl, award-winning psychologist, professor, and TEDx speaker Dr. Tracy Packiam Alloway will help you discover how: sticking your hand in a bucket of ice can help you make a less emotional decision changing one word can provide a buffer against depressive thoughts adopting a more relationship-centric leadership approach can be better for mental health Dare to think differently. Dare to think like a girl.