Challenging Gender Roles in A League of Their Own

Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own explores how gender roles and expectations shift

and evolve during World War II. As men leave for war, women are suddenly

called upon to take on roles previously considered masculine, such as playing professional baseball.

Through this setting, the film both challenges and exposes the social limits placed on women.

Marshall uses film conventions such as costume, performance, and cinematography

to question what it truly means to be “feminine” or “masculine.” Ultimately, A League of Their

Own reveals that gender is flexible and that strength, skill, and identity are

not confined to one gender. The film initially shows that femininity is something women