Female eligibility policies punish people for gender nonconformity and normalize patriarchal rule. These policies were used first to exclude women deemed “too masculine” from competing against women who more closely conform to gender stereotypes. In recent years, this form of discipline has dovetailed with efforts to determine the circumstances, if any, under which transgender women may compete against cisgender women. Modern sport, as a set of institutions, does not stand apart from capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and heteropatriarchy. In this article, I use a prison abolitionist lens to connect anti-trans campaigns and female eligibility policies that police sporting identity to the carceral logics of racial capitalism to make the argument that sex surveillance is related to race, social control, and capital accumulation.
Browse
The Carceral Logic of Female Eligibility Policies: Gender as a Civilizing Narrative, the Science of Sex Testing, and Anti-Trans Legislation 1
Travers
Mentioned, Quoted, and Promoted: How Sports Journalists Constructed a Narrative of Athletes’ Value in the “Name, Image, and Likeness” Era
Shannon Scovel
Using theories of framing and agenda setting, this study explores how journalists covered women athletes during the first week of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s new “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) policy. Athlete representation during this first week was critical, as it established precedent for which athletes, according to media members, held value and were worthy of publicity. The findings from this study show that journalists focused their reporting of NIL on U.S. male athletes, although women athletes such as Olivia Dunne, Haley Cavinder, and Hanna Cavinder were also frequently mentioned in relation to their large social media following, lifestyle, or appearance. Overall, reporters generally promoted a male-dominated NIL agenda, one that undervalued women athletes and minimized their potential role as sporting celebrities in the college sports space.
Team Identity and Environmentalism: The Case of Forest Green Rovers
Elizabeth B. Delia, Brian P. McCullough, and Keegan Dalal
Despite consumer concern over climate change, research on environmental issues and sport fandom has focused more on organizational outcomes than on fans themselves. Recognizing fandom can be representative of social movements, and social identity and collective action are utilized in an intrinsic case study of Forest Green Rovers football club supporters (who also identify with environmentalism) to understand the extent to which the club represents a social movement, and whether Forest Green Rovers’ sustainability efforts encourage pro-environment actions. Through interview research, we found supporters’ team and environmental identities cooperate synergistically. Forest Green Rovers is not just representative of environmentalism but has become a politicized identity itself—a means to act for change on environmental issues. We discuss implications concerning identity synergy, team identity as a politicized identity, perceptions of success, collective action, and cognitive alternatives to the status quo. We conclude by noting the unavoidable inseparability of environmental issues and sport consumption.
From Frozen Ponds to Organized Competitions: The Growth of Skating and Ice Hockey in Korea, 1886–1938
Kyoungho Park and Karam Lee
The encounter of American Protestant evangelicalism and Japanese imperialism formed in Korean society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries became a steppingstone for the acceptance of modern winter sports in Korea. In particular, skates introduced by American Protestant missionaries and the Young Men’s Christian Association formed an imaginary space to counter Japanese imperialism in Korea during Japanese colonial era. Ice hockey introduced along with skating is a representative product that evolved in this process. The history of the introduction of American ice hockey to Korea also had a dual imperial influence between the United States and Japan, and in another direction, there was a voluntary acceptance process by Koreans who recognized ice hockey as a modern product.
We are Courageous: Speaking Out Boldly and Acting for Change: Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network Conference, 20–22 June, 2023
Milly Blundell, Tori Sprung, and Zoe Knowles
Playing in Front of the Bench: Courtside Selection and Its Impact on Team Performance
Finn Spilker and Christian Deutscher
This paper analyzes the strategic decision of basket choice in the National Basketball Association. Before games start, the away team chooses whether to play on offense in front of their bench in the first or second half. Based on eight regular seasons and 9,308 games, we identify the standard strategy for away teams to play on offense at their own benches in the first half. Results indicate that both home and away teams score more points when they play on offense in front of their bench. More importantly, there is a strategic advantage for the away team to play with the offense in front of the bench in the second half, deviating from the standard strategy in the league. Finally, we demonstrate that the choice of the basket for the away team can partially offset the home advantage under normal spectator conditions and entirely nullify it in ghost games.
Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraceptive Symptom Severity and Frequency in Athletic Females
Laura R. Kiemle-Gabbay, Stephanie Valentin, Daniel Martin, and Laura J. Forrest (née Whyte)
The purpose of this study was to determine symptom severity and frequency in female exercisers and athletes from a diverse range of sports who have a menstrual cycle (MC) or use hormonal contraceptives (HCs). An additional aim was to explore the perceived impact of MC/HC use upon exercise and sport performance. In total, 604 self-identifying female athletes and exercisers (M = 29.4 years, SD = 9.0) from 85 sports/activities completed a survey which included: sport/exercise participation, bleeding characteristics, HC use, symptom severity/frequency, symptom management strategies, menstrual product use, and perceived impact of MC/HC use on exercise performance. The data were subject to mixed-methods analysis. Over one third (n = 225; 37.25%) of participants reported current HC use. Ninety-five percent (95.36%) of participants experienced symptoms related to MC or HC use. Physiological, psychological, and affective symptoms were all among the most prevalent. The most frequently noted severe and very severe symptoms for all participants, MC and HC users, were abdominal cramps (36.92%, 39.32%, and 32.89%, respectively), mood changes (26.16%, 25.07%, and 28.00%, respectively), and tiredness (25.33%, 25.59%, and 24.89%, respectively). Symptom impact was self-managed through medical and/or other (cognitive/behavioral) strategies. Qualitative content analysis of the data produced four overarching themes: (a) the impact of symptoms, (b) menstrual stigma and taboos, (c) protective factors, and (d) coping strategies. In conclusion, menstruation is a multifaceted, unique experience that impacts upon sport/exercise performance. Practitioners should consider athletes’ distinct needs, including the frequency of occurrence and severity of their symptomatic experiences, when facilitating menstruation-supportive training, avoiding a “one-size fits-all” approach.
The 2022 Janus 2.0 Conference Papers: Introduction to the Special Issue
Kevin Andrew Richards, Kim C. Graber, and Amelia Mays Woods
Nature Sport and Environmental History: Adulation or Alteration of Nature?
PearlAnn Reichwein, Pierre-Olaf Schut, and Grégory Quin
“I Live With and By Nature”: Swedish Alpine Skiers Reflect on Professional and Lifestyle Skiing, Nature, and Snow, 1964–2023
Marie Larneby
Alpine skiing has been a popular activity since the 1950s. However, global warming leads to milder weather, melting glaciers, and reduced snowfall which deteriorates possibilities to skiing. The purpose of this paper is to sketch a contemporary history of alpine skiing and environmental awareness in Sweden through the narratives of ten alpine skiers. A temporal and spatial perspective contributes to make changes over time and meaning of places visible. The skiers share a fixed narrative: nature as central for skiing. This is not unproblematic since nature has been more adapted and modified and resulted in a crowded landscape. Nature is a space to be preserved but also as a space to enable skiing. In this constructed landscape, over time snowmaking is reconstructed to being normal, albeit not natural. A way to handle these changes is to care more for nature, travel less, ski more local, and show environmental awareness.
