Female Specific Basketball Shoes: An In-depth Analysis of the Effects of Underrepresentation in Basketball Footwear
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Date
2020
Authors
Demby, Nicole J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Women started playing basketball less than a year after the game was invented and currently
make up over a quarter of the playing community. However, less than 1% of all basketball shoes
sold are female specific (Mirabella, 2018). When sports product companies do release a
women’s basketball shoe, they simply scale down an existing men’s model and sell it in a
feminine colorway, doing what is known in the industry as “shrink it and pink it”. Most female
basketball players spend their entire career playing in men’s shoes. Due to the anatomical
differences between men and women, men’s basketball shoes are not only overdesigned for
women, but they also do not properly address the structural differences between men’s and
women’s feet. Playing in men’s footwear perpetuates female underrepresentation within
basketball and could be a factor in the massive gender gap of women’s ACL injuries in the sport
compared to men. This research explores opportunities to design a suite of female-specific
basketball shoes that decrease ACL injury propensity and optimize player performance.
Description
93 pages