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Section One: The Fundamentals
A) What do we know about sport? What are common assumptions we make about sport and society?
In an ideal world, politics would not influence or determine who can and cannot participate in sports, but we do not live in that world. As mentioned in the readings and by my peers, many transgender individuals face horrible backlash and legal and political claims that essentially force them out of sports, or at least participate within their preferred gender’s sport (transgender women in women’s sports and transgender men in men’s sports). A key and recent example of the unwelcome attitude toward transgender athletes “corrupting or having an advantage” in sports was at the 2024 Paris Olympics during the women’s boxing match with Imane Khelif. Her opponent accused her of being assigned male at birth and transitioning into a woman without disclosing it to the Olympics, all because she displayed an impressive amount of strength. While Khelif is a cis-gender woman, her reputation was tarnished, her win was dismissed, and her gender identity was questioned all because of an ongoing political insistence that transgender people do not belong in sports, let alone the Olympics. While Khelif could prove her gender identity was accurate to her claims, she should not have had to do that and the expectation of women and athletes having to prove their sex is highly inappropriate and disgusting. This exchange highlights how threatened transgender individuals are in sports and how little they are welcomed, especially when cis-gender women are being falsely accused of changing their gender to dominate within the sport, even though, as stated in the readings and lecture, there have been no cases where men have transitioned to join the women’s team to simply win.
Exercise 3: Notebook prompt
What are some other metanarratives about sport that you are familiar with? Find an image or video clip or draw something yourself that captures this idea…
So what? Why does any of this matter? Does it matter? As something we grow up with – live with – play through – we don’t often interrogate the meanings of sport, and perhaps we don’t want to.
But being aware of these assumptions and metanarratives is especially important, I would argue, because of the centrality of sport to our everyday lives, the role that sport plays in shaping our childhood and worldviews and….. [finish that thought]
| A metanarrative I find common in sports is that the professionals in sports are at the peak of athleticism and that we, as a society, should strive to match their body conditions. The sport professionals are under constant exercise regimens. They nourish their bodies with a guide from a nutritionist that best suits them, and they have coaches and access to resources to aid them in their growth to become the best they can be. While it is impressive, it is hardly attainable to the common person, and yet I see commercials of athletes endorsing a product to make us look like them, or the encouragement to follow an athlete’s diet or exercise regimen. It creates an unhealthy and unrealistic view of our bodies and what we should strive for.
But being aware of these assumptions and metanarratives is especially important, I would argue, because of the centrality of sport in our everyday lives, the role that sport plays in shaping our childhood and worldviews and bodies is an incredibly challenging area to navigate. As children grow and see their idols on the big screen or the field, they are taught what the “ideal” body appears to be and what they need to strive for in their near future. This societal concept of what is and is not the correct body can have disastrous effects on a person’s relationship with food, exercise, and their body. It is important to create a healthy separation from what an athlete’s body looks like and one’s own. Every body is different and has different requirements to be at their peak, and that does not happen through following an endorsement or diet plan from sports professionals. Overall, it is essential to educate and encourage the general population to receive information about healthy habits through athletes, as well as the knowledge that everyone is different and has different needs that cannot be reflected through a sports celebrity. |
B) What is social justice?
Exercise 4: Padlet Prompt
Think back to the last section and try to look at some of the ideas we discussed differently. How might sport and social justice actually co-exist?
Record any images, video clips, or gifs you added to the padlet and identify a point of intersection between sport and social justice (can be an issue or a barrier or a debate or something you would like to explore in more depth in this course) . Screenshot or paste in your response below.
| Advocacy and Activism
Social Justice and Sports are such an important combination because they create and bring awareness to areas of sports that are inaccessible or demonstrate opinions and views that exclude those without the privileges we commonly see in athletics. A recent example of the impacts of advocacy was on the Paralympic TikTok page, where the creators were posting videos that seemed to make a mockery of the athletes instead of praising them for their skills and successes. Many people commented negatively on this string of videos, comparing the teasing videos on the Paralympic page to the constant praise of the able-bodied athletes on the Olympic page. It created a large enough controversy that the page eventually shifted toward praising more of the athletes’ successes, while still holding a playful nature. The people calling out the page is important because it highlighted the inequality of the treatment between able-bodied and disabled athletes, showing the Olympians praise while mocking the Paralympics. Even if it was all in jest, it emphasises the disconnect and disrespect society has for disabled athletes and how their success is measured as less than able-bodied athletes. Advocacy and activism are important for calling out inappropriate behaviours and demanding respect for those being disrespected in and around sports. |
C) Social Justice Reading
(note: this activity is optional!)
D) KINESIOLOGY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Exercise 5:
Exercise 6:
What are the implications of bodies-at-risk discourse and the refusal to understand the health gap from a social justice perspective, according to the authors of this article?
It allows and pushes the idea and belief that able-bodied, cis-gendered, heterosexual white individuals are the standard and everyone should aim to reach that “peak” because it is the best an individual can be. The bodies-at-risk discourse erases where the individuals are already at, what their bodies do, and the progress and experiences they have. It demonstrates that individuals who do not match that description, albeit people with disabilities, people of colour, members of the LGBTQIA+, etc. need to be “fixed” to match that “peak” definition of health and wellness and they will not or cannot reach a healthy lifestyle if they do not achieve it. The authors elaborate that it emphasises and places people in a negative space that lacks individualism and personal expression through their health and bodies. It shows them that they will always need to be fixed to be better than they already are. It also places them into a box because people of colour will never be able to be white, and people with disabilities may never have the chance to thrive in a socially acceptable healthy body. The authors share the implications of the bodies-at-risk discourses discriminating against individuals because it shows them a guideline for perfection that they can never meet, nor should have to meet. They point out that people do not need to be fixed, the system does.
Section Two: Sport Feminism
Exercise 7: Notebook Prompt
What is feminism? What does it mean to you? Choose one of the images below and explain how it captures your understanding of feminism (or find one that does speak to you and paste this into your pressbook with an explanation of why it matters to you.
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It is challenging to define feminism because of its vast range of definitions and meanings. Feminism can be different for every person, yet it encompasses equal rights and opportunities for feminine-presenting individuals and people assigned female at birth. Feminism, for me, is defined as a promise to fight for women, especially those who face adversity. I am a white female-presenting woman who, while I am queer and disabled, I still have so much privilege because I am white and therefore I believe a major portion of feminism is allowing those who face adversity to have a voice and elevate them! It is a collective movement to fight for those who can not do so and give people to chance to speak for themselves in a world that silences them. An image that captures my definition of feminism is the image of the women marching, as it holds the power of change through their collectiveness and solidarity. Feminism is both individualistic and collective. It is important to have support to make mass change and to work on your own biases for yourself. Feminism is everything, in the way we dress, how we treat everyone, how accessible areas are both physically and metaphorically, and how the world treats people. Feminism is in everything because we live in a patriarchal world that needs to be overwhelmed with feminism. |
Exercise 8: Notes Prompt (optional)
NB: Cornell notes is a great resource that teaches effective notetaking. Unfortunately, our system can’t save notes taken in the H5P app, so this is fully optional.
Exercise 9: Crossword Activity
Exercise 10: Padlet Prompt
| Marxist Feminism
Focused on acknowledging the time and effort women put into men’s and children’s sports while being given no recognition or praise for putting their lives and desires aside and performing a caretaking role. Black Feminism Focusing on the importance of people of colour within sport and how discrimination and bias need to be addressed so women can thrive within sports and health. It also focuses on the centralised nature of white women in feminism and how there needs to be a shift to include everyone, not just white able-bodied, heterosexual women. Liberal Feminism Focuses on the importance of women in sports and how women should be allowed to have access to any sport available, no matter the presentation of femininity within the sport, such as pushing past the expectation of being feminine and delicate and having access to all “masculine” sports as well as “feminine” sports. Radical Feminism Focused on moving away from women being sexualised in sports and being viewed as an object, such as shifting from the norm of women being dressed in tight clothing to perform and compete, as well as women as a sexualised part of men’s sports. It focused on viewing women with the ability, talent, and respect they deserve. Poststructuralist feminism Focusing on the importance of ability and talent within sports and looking beyond the person’s assignment sex at birth. Focusing on how well they perform and how they compete as an athlete, no matter their sex or gender identity.
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I think there has been an influx of attention to women’s sports, but to say it’s new is dismissing the many years of women’s sports that have been incredibly popular. I believe there has been an influx of attention to women’s sports typically seen through the lens of masculinity, such as basketball and hockey. While gymnastics and dance, two very “feminine” sports have always been popular, just not in the way traditional masculine sports are. It is wonderful that all women’s sports are becoming more popular, especially in a sense that does not sexualise the athletes or make them seem less than they are. I do not think this is a trend. There has been plenty more marketing for women’s sports and people are venturing to see them. I think we often associate the success of a sports team with how much attention they receive and how many fans they have, and I have found that there is a growing interest in women’s sports recently, therefore there are more fans and people are now considering women’s sports as more popular. I think, like poststructuralism feminism, we should not be focusing on whether people like women’s sport and focus on if people like the sport at all. To classify it as a women’s sport means the default is men’s sport, as you would never call the Maple Leafs a “men’s hockey team”. Overall, I am excited that women athletes are getting the attention they deserve.
