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This interpretative study examines the complexities of lesbian parents’ experiences in organized youth sport programs. Specifically, it seeks to understand youth sport as a potential site for social change that facilitates a sense of inclusive community for diverse family structures. Using thematic analysis, the author examines perspectives of nine participants from Australia, Canada, and the United States. Emphasis is placed on how the lesbian parents (a) negotiate heightened visibility, sexual stigma, and parental judgment; (b) foster social relationships through participation, volunteerism, and positive role models; and (c) create shared understanding toward building an inclusive sport culture. The findings call attention to the importance of intentional and unintentional acts (by families as well as sport organizations) that create a sense of community and an inclusive organizational culture. The connection of lesbian parents’ experiences to broader concepts, such as sexual stigma and transformative services, are also examined within the context of youth sport.

In this paper, we explore the lived experiences of mother-coaches who, while coaching, navigate policy and programs aimed at promoting gender equity. Specifically, this study took place within the context of an amateur national, 10-day multisport games event in Canada. Using critical feminist narrative inquiry, 14 mother-coaches (apprentice, assistant, or head coach), representing eight different provinces, and 10 different sports, participated in this study. Three themes were constructed that call attention to the Canadian sport system broadly, as well as the 10-day multisport games event specifically: (a) performative policies and gendered assumptions, (b) programs that are band-aids for a “shitty culture,” and (c) a pathway to nowhere for mother-coaches. The findings complicate the hegemonic work–family conflict narrative, suggesting that mother-coaches’ advancement, opportunities, and quality experiences are impacted by the current heteropatriarchal culture and structure of sport that these programs and policy are rooted in.

This manuscript shares insights on the process of creating and operating a student-led equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) club centered in a sport management program through five reflective stories (i.e., three students and two faculty members). Sport Helps Everyone Make Allies is a student-led EDI club created at one of the largest sport-management-specific degree programs in North America. Based on critical reflections from the five stories, we identify key lessons for the creation and management of student-led EDI clubs: (a) resisting the chilly climate, (b) EDI initiatives within hierarchal systems, (c) EDI initiatives and the challenges of performative allyship, (d) EDI initiatives as agents of change, and (e) the essential role of faculty. By sharing our insights and reflections, we hope to help future social-justice-focused student groups navigate the development of a student-led EDI club.