Cirrus@Austlit

'Who could imagine that finding a suitable pair of football boots would prove almost impossible for women and girls in the 1970s?

'The focus of the women’s liberation movement was fought in the streets, in universities, in workplaces and in the home. We add the football field to these sites of protest and empowerment for individual women. We follow the Australian and New Zealand national players – schoolgirls, factory workers, university graduates and professionals – as they navigate the male-dominated world of football. This book never shies away from the uncomfortable aspects of their journeys, uncovering stories of vulnerability and strength, sexual harassment as well as sexual awakening, personal vilification as well as celebration, giving voice to a silencing in sport.

'Written by historian Dr Marion Stell, in collaboration with football identity Heather Reid AM, this enlivened account is told with honesty, pain and humour.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'This is big-picture history. The fundamental right to citizenship is about as big as history can get. In a year that witnessed the conclusion to the commemoration (more often verging on celebration) of the centenary of World War I and its accompanying literature, it is invigorating to read a book that so eloquently and subtly challenges the weary emphasis on the Anzac legend as the defining moment of the first two decades of twentieth-century Australian history. Instead, we have an account of the engrossing struggle of Australian women to win the vote in their own country and the crucial role they played in the British suffrage campaign.' (Introduction)