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Section One: The Fundamentals

A) Keywords

Exercise 1:

Briefly (in 100 words or less) define one of the keywords in the padlet (including one that you. may have added yourself).

Intersectionality:

Intersectionality refers to the coinciding structures of discrimination that individuals experience based on multiple factors of their identities, such as gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, etc. The idea of intersectionality is that a person experiencing various forms of discrimination has different experiences than someone facing just one inequality. Take intersectional feminism, for example; a woman of colour would have a different understanding of misogyny than a white woman.

 

B) Representing Race

Exercise 2: Notebook Prompt 

In about 50-70 words, consider Joel Bervell’s question: why do we feel the need to extrapolate the athleticism of one Black athlete to all Black people when we do not do the same for white athletes?

Try to think of examples when this happens, making sure to reflect on your own positionality.

This kind of phenomenon should be discussed more in the world of sports. As a white person, I would say this narrative comes from a place of insecurity, not wanting to accept that people are putting in the work to be the best, and instead of training harder, it is easier to dismiss the harsh reality by using certain ‘scientific facts’ while at the same time, ignoring the facts that don’t benefit their position (e.g., Michael Phelps).

C) Gender, Race & Sport 

Exercise 3: Notebook Prompt

What are some strategies for resistance that Rajack and Joseph identify in their article as a means of pushing back against and resisting misogynoir?

  1. Urging academics to broaden their definitions of Blackness; the colonial binaries that segregate nations or races are insufficient in describing or representing real experiences and must be challenged.
  2. Challenging/exposing how the media discuss sportswomen of colour; often they are met with sexualization, their accomplishments minimalized, as well as experiencing racist and sexist micro-aggressions. People in and outside of sports must continue to hold the media accountable for their behaviour towards sportswomen of colour.
  3. Hall’s encoding/decoding model of media reproduction; assumes an indirect or asymmetrical correspondence between the meaning intended by a sender and the meaning interpreted by a recipient.
  4. Osaka’s self-representation; she emphasizes Haitain and “Blasian” (Black-Asian) ideas through her social media, often proudly brings up her Haitian heritage in interviews, and even clapped back at some colourist comments made by comedians about her skin being too dark via Twitter.

 

 

Section Two: Making Connections

A) Athlete Activism

Exercise 3: Padlet Prompt

 Do athletes have a responsibility to use their platform for social change? Why or why not? Please remember to record your response in both the padlet below and in your Notebook. 

B) Athlete Activism & Feminism

Exercise 4: Complete the activities 

 

Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt 

What do the authors of the article call for as a way of challenging how mainstream sports journalism privileges neoliberal feminist concerns? (100 words max.)

The authors’ goal of this article is to promote “telling stories differently” by expanding what is considered sports media, centring on female athletes’ activism, and continuing to challenge the dominant narratives that prioritize neoliberal feminism. The article emphasizes the importance of bringing intersectional feminism to the forefront, particularly by women of colour, to create change within male-centred sports media representation.

 

 

C) Corporate social justice 

Exercise 6: Padlet Poll

Read this story by Ramsey Khabbaz contrasting the NFL stance on athlete activism with that of the NBA, especially in regards to BLM. Do sports leagues hold when it comes to BLM? Please respond to the padlet poll and record a brief rationale for your answer there in the space below. Remember to respond collegially to a classmate’s point (you may need to circle back at a later time if you are one of the first to post).
 

 

 

Section Three: Taking a shot

Module Assignment (submit as part of notebook and separately through Blackboard mini assignment #1 portal)

 

License

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This work (Gender, Sport, and Social Justice by Kelly McGuire) is free of known copyright restrictions.