Front cover image for Little girls in pretty boxes : the making and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters

Little girls in pretty boxes : the making and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters

Joan Ryan
With sports as our national fairy tale, we have come to worship the tiny gymnasts and sequined skaters who appear on the landscape as storybook princesses with their poise and beauty, agility and grace. But the truth behind the making of elite women athletes reveals a grim national trend far less magical than what these images project. All too often behind the pigtails and mascara is a trail of abuse from parents, coaches, and federation officials - the very people charged with protecting these young athletes

Print Book, English, ©1995
Doubleday, New York, ©1995