Despite women's great strides in business, sports and politics, many women still feel ambivalent about winning. They cannot relate to what Nelson calls the Conqueror's way: domination, subjugation, humiliation of enemies. But equally unpalatable is the alternative settling for the second-class status of the Cheerleader's way, wherein women compete only with each other, only on the sidelines, and only over issues like beauty and popularity.
Nelson proposes this possibility: the Champion's way. The Champions competes openly, joyously, with women or men, with respect for her rivals, and without apology for her own desire for excellence. Using personal stories, interviews with more than two hundred women, and original survey research of one thousand women and girls nationwide, Nelson presents a unique five part framework for understanding competition: it's a relationship, a process, an opportunity, a risk, and a feminist issue. In a book that will change every reader's perspective on competition, Nelson sets women on their way to competing with a whole new game plan.
A former Stanford and professional basketball player, Mariah Burton Nelson is the author of the groundbreaking The Stronger Women Get, the More Men Love Football and Are We Winning Yet? A popular lecturer, she speaks to several dozen groups each year and has appeared on hundreds of television shows, from Good Morning America to Dateline to Larry King Live. She lives in Arlington, Virginia. She can be reached via e-mail at Mariahbn@aol.com.