Skating on Thin Ice exposes the culture of toxic masculinity in professional hockey and suggests how sport and society can change the narrative on sexual assault and violence.

Why is it that professional sports, and notably hockey, remain a bastion for rape culture and violence against women? What are the conditions that allow a culture of toxic masculinity to persist despite awakenings elsewhere in society? What is the path forward, and how do we make officials, coaches, and athletes accountable?

Drawing on decades of award-winning sociological research and sports journalism, Walter S. DeKeseredy, Martin D. Schwartz, and veteran sportswriter Stu Cowan find answers to these questions in Skating on Thin Ice.

The book examines the abusive, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic behaviors found in professional hockey and explains the larger societal forces that perpetuate and legitimate these harms. Confirming a recent federal government inquiry into Hockey Canada’s handling of sexual assault allegations, the book reveals that young men enter the NHL and other revenue-generating hockey leagues already trained and primed to treat women as objects – and often to commit violent acts against them. Rooted in the authors’ work in the sports world as well as their work with activists and governments, Skating on Thin Ice doesn’t just highlight the problem of hockey and rape culture, it also provides collaborative solutions for fixing it.

Skating on Thin Ice exposes the culture of toxic masculinity in professional hockey and suggests how sport and society can change the narrative on sexual assault and violence.

Preface
Acknowledgments

Foreword
Heather Mallick

1. More Than a Few Bad Men
2. In Their Own Words: Giving Voice to the Survivors of Professional Hockey Violence and Sexism
3. With a Little Help from Their Friends: Male Peer Support and Violence against Women
4. Other Key Elements of a Rape-Supportive Culture in Professional Hockey
5. The Puck Drops Here: Prevention and Control Strategies

Afterword
Jack Todd

Notes
Index
About the Authors

"Skating on Thin Ice blends seasoned social science analysis and deep familiarity with the world of professional hockey to provide a compelling exploration of the toxic culture of misogyny and violence against women that pervades so much of high-level professional sports. This is a powerful, insightful, and profoundly troubling book that should be read by anyone concerned with the integrity and moral character of sport today."

"Skating on Thin Ice provides a sociological and psychological road map that describes the sanctioned rape culture of professional hockey. It argues that the depraved actions of hockey players are not the result of some group mental illness, but the logical outcome of a culture that is highly privileged and deeply misogynistic, and that defines masculinity through a prism of physical and sexual violence. A must read, especially for sports fans."

"This book is about opening the conversation to the culture that exists in all sports for change. We as women have sat on the bench for too long, and it is time to play. When reading this book, how will you measure the success of your child versus the damage to succeed?"

"Every so often a book comes along that deepens the way we think about the depth of misogyny inherent in patriarchy. Skating on Thin Ice is one such book, offering a critical and nuanced analysis of hegemonic masculinity in general and ice hockey culture in particular. Especially refreshing and innovative is the way this book focuses on strategies for change and refuses to accept the status quo. Given the levels of male violence against women, we need more books like this."

"As a female survivor of sexual abuse in sport and an expert in the space, I read this book with goosebumps and validation. I continually found myself saying ‘oh, you so get it,’ and this is rare. I commend the authors for their diligence and thoroughness. Regardless of my own lived experience, today I am a proud hockey mom. This book will help me raise hockey boys to be the hockey men of the future!"