Strong Like Her: A Celebration of Rule Breakers, History Makers, and Unstoppable Athletes

by Haley Shapley, Sophy Holland (Photographer)

Overview

This stirring and vibrant account of women’s athleticism throughout history “will leave readers feeling inspired and powerful” (Ms. magazine).

Part group biography, part cultural history, Strong Like Her delves into the fascinating stories of our muscular foremothers. From the first female Olympian (who entered the chariot race through a loophole) to the circus stars who could lift their husbands above their heads and make it look like “a little light housework with a feather duster,” these brave and brawny women paved the way for the generations to follow.

Filled with Sophy Holland’s beautiful por­traits of some of today’s most awe-inspiring ath­letes, including Peloton instructor Robin Arzón, bodybuilder Dana Linn Bailey, actress/dancer Patina Miller, and many others, Strong Like Her is “a love letter to muscles and the women who rock them so gloriously” (Shape).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982120863
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	04/09/2024
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Haley Shapley is a journalist whose writing has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Fodor’s, SELF, and many more. She has cycled 206 miles from Seattle to Portland, summited the highest glaciated peak in the continental United States, competed in a bodybuilding show, and finished a marathon. The author of Strong Like Her, Shapley lives in Seattle.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Original Warriors: Ancient Depictions of Strength 9

2 The Outliers: Victorian-Era Women Who Walked on the Wild Side 21

3 Sink or Swim: Strength as a Means of Survival 41

4 The Sandwina Effect: Strongwomen, the Circus, and Suffrage 53

5 Beach Babes: Pudgy Stockton and the Crowd-Pleasing Ladies of Muscle Beach 67

6 Unladylike: When a Babe Is Not Considered a Babe 83

7 Breaking into the Boy's Club: Running toward Opportunity 101

8 A Woman's Place is in the Weight Room: The Rise of Strength Sports in the '70s 119

9 A Built Body: When Muscles Are Required to Shine 131

10 Form Follows Function: How Body Expectations Are Born 143

11 The Power Within: How Outer Strength Breeds Inner Confidence 157

12 Strong(h)er than Yesterday: The Modern Athlete and the Fight for Equality 171

Afterword 183

Athlete Bios 191

About the Author 221

Acknowledgments 223

Historical Photo Credits 225

Portrait Credits 226

Notes 229

Editorial Reviews

Athletes are the greatest of all feminists. If a woman’s chief occupation is no longer needlework, if strong is finally beautiful, and if all occupations are open, it’s thanks to champions like these.”
—Sally Jenkins, author of The Real All Americans and sports columnist for The Washington Post

“Strong Like Her binds the stories of incredible women with their own unique strengths and motivations. It is a celebration of women's power, proving that there is nothing we cannot do.”
—Allyson Felix, nine-time Olympic medalist

“Shapley’s book puts stereotypes that women are ‘weak’ to shame.” —The Tempest

“A book that will leave readers feeling inspired and powerful.”
—Ms.

“This celebration of female athleticism and insightful look into what it means to be a physically strong woman trades anger for calm, and incredulity for hope, but leaves room for Shapley’s sense of humor, countering pain with laughter in the only way millennials know how.”
—New Orleans Review

“The author’s quippy prose offers hope for the role strong women will play in the future of politics and in the fight for equality.”
—Seattle Magazine



“A love letter to muscles and the women who rock them so gloriously.”
—Shape

From the Publisher