It’s always fun when a sociological study makes it into the mainstream press (for a good reason)– especially one about sports. A new paper out in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport titled, “Where are the female athletes in Sports Illustrated? A content analysis of covers (2000–2011),” has been making the rounds, especially [...]
This time of year is always a big one for female athletes– especially with the recent popularity of NCAA basketball superstars like Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins. While it’s so important to celebrate these victories, it’s also important to remember the ways in which we still have room to grow when it comes to female [...]
New shifts in sport have been all over the news lately. Danica Patrick is the first woman to shift into the pole position (the top qualifier) at the Daytona 500. And while the International Olympic Committee’s unexpected and shocking decision to drop wrestling from the summer Games impacts more men than women, it’s telling that [...]
Last week some pageant bling helped me get into the holiday spirit. Take a look at these amazing/atrocious gowns from the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant and tell me they don’t make you think of a) A Christmas Tree and b) A Mrs. Claus outfit gone wrong. (Well, actually only if Mrs. Claus was a part-time [...]
I learned a new term this month: “Chicked.” Apparently that’s what you say in skiing when a woman beats a man on the slopes. Here’s an excerpt from an article describing what it is to be chicked: “That’s a verb used in ski racing – chicked – to chick someone,” explained Canadian alpine racer Larisa [...]
Compared to the past few months, October brought less female athlete news– but as students returned to school and Olympic-caliber athletes returned to training, there’s no doubt that women in sports were hard at work. And, in many cases, they are working hard in new contexts. 1) In Massachusetts female high school golfers now have [...]
Recent news out of the world of female athletics has been nothing but positive lately. From the success of women in the Summer Olympics to the 40th anniversary of the passage of Title IX we’ve been very busy focusing on the accomplishments of women athletes. This past month one of the biggest stories about women [...]
Today a book review I wrote of the new book Sportista: Female Fandom in the United States, appeared on The Rumpus. This may or may not mean I am the next Cheryl Strayed… This summer my husband and I had Olympics fever. We watched NBC’s tape-delayed broadcast every night and live online coverage of our [...]
The XX(X) Olympics were an enormous success for women– especially the Americans. If the US women had been their own country they would have placed fifth in the medal count standings. Even more noteworthy is that 60% of the all the US’ medals came from women and 2/3rds of the American gold medal haul were [...]
This blog originally appeared on the Gates Cambridge blog, A Transformative Experience, on July 29, 2012. I was a Gates Cambridge scholar at the University of Cambridge from 2002-2003. It truly was one of the most transformative experiences of my life from a personal and professional point of view. For many years after my time [...]
