“For a long time, Roller Derby seemed to have fallen into oblivion. Following its advent in the 1930s, the full-contact sport on roller skates rose to great popularity in the 1970s, only to be forgotten until a sudden resurgence in 2002. Several leagues were formed in the US, most of them for women only, whose sexy costumes emphasizing their femininity formed a stark contrast with the roughness of the sport. Players get into character for the game, assuming alter egos with names like Patsy Crime, Dolly le Dukes, Tawdry Hepburn or Death by Chocolate. Shelley Calton has been making portraits of the Derby Girls ever since the sport’s revival. The Houston-based photographer vividly depicts the tempo and emotions of the game, exploring how the players’ self-image demands both a typically masculine attitude and the female erotic showcasing of their own bodies.”
––Alexa Becker, Kehrer Verlag, 2008 |
Hard Knocks
Rolling with the Derby Girls
Published by
Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg
Release date:
March 2009 |
