Robyn Ryle is a writer and a professor of sociology and gender studies at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, where she has been teaching sociology of gender and other courses for 20 years. She went to Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, for her undergraduate degrees in sociology and English with a concentration in women’s studies. She received her PhD in sociology from Indiana University-Bloomington and is originally from northern Kentucky.
Her young adult novel, FAIR GAME, is about a girls’ basketball team that challenges the boys to a high-stakes game, putting their seasons, their futures and three cherished friendships on the line. It’s a great read for fans of the movie, SHE’S THE MAN and FURIA, by Yamile Saied Mendez.
Her book, SHE/HE/THEY/ME: FOR THE SISTERS, MISTERS AND BINARY RESISTERS, is now available in paperback from Sourcebooks. It’s a nonfiction book about gender told as a choose your own adventure. THROW LIKE A GIRL, CHEER LIKE A BOY: THE EVOLUTION OF GENDER, IDENTITY, AND RACE IN SPORTS will be available in paperback in August 2023. The book is a great read for those looking to learn more about the history of sports from a sociological perspective.
She has stories and essays in Newsweek, CALYX Journal, Paper Darts, Gawker, Midwestern Gothic, Big Truths, Bartleby Snopes, and Whiskeypaper, among others (check out her full list of publications here). She’s also written a sociology of gender textbook, QUESTIONING GENDER: A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION, currently in its fifth edition.
She enjoys digging in her garden, cooking what comes out of her garden, and generally enjoying small town life. She currently lives in a 170-year-old house in scenic Madison, Indiana, with her husband, daughter, and two rather peculiar cats. You can keep up with her latest classes and projects and read her musings on a variety of subjects at her Substack, You Think Too Much, or find her on Instagram (@robynrryle) or Twitter (@RobynRyle).