The Sexual And Gender Politics Of Sport Mega Events

This challenging new study examines gender and sexuality in relation to the ‘roving colonialism’ of sport mega-events. Built around four case studies in postcolonial and settler colonial contexts—the Olympics in Vancouver, London and Sochi and soccer fans in the Egyptian revolution—the book examines sporting 'homonationalism' and anti-colonial resistance. The first part discusses different moments of ‘homonationalism’ in sport. The second part explores how indigenous and anti-colonial protests against mega-sport events lead to different views about gender and sexuality politics in sport. It offers a critical counter-narrative to the view that gay and lesbian inclusion in global sporting events is simply a matter of universal human rights. The book calls for LGBT social movements in sport to move away from complicity with neoliberalism, nationalism and colonial-racial logics, particularly Islamophobia, toward a decolonial politics of solidarity. Theoretically sophisticated and empirically grounded, this book draws together important threads in the contemporary study of sport to illuminate the relationship between sport and wider society. It will be fascinating reading for any student or researcher interested in the sociology of sport, Olympic studies, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial studies, indigenous studies, settler colonial studies or the politics of race and inclusion.

This challenging new study examines gender and sexuality in relation to the ‘roving colonialism’ of sport mega-events. Built around four case studies in postcolonial and settler colonial contexts—the Olympics in Vancouver, London and Sochi and soccer fans in the Egyptian revolution—the book examines sporting 'homonationalism' and anti-colonial resistance. The first part discusses different moments of ‘homonationalism’ in sport. The second part explores how indigenous and anti-colonial protests against mega-sport events lead to different views about gender and sexuality politics in sport. It offers a critical counter-narrative to the view that gay and lesbian inclusion in global sporting events is simply a matter of universal human rights. The book calls for LGBT social movements in sport to move away from complicity with neoliberalism, nationalism and colonial-racial logics, particularly Islamophobia, toward a decolonial politics of solidarity. Theoretically sophisticated and empirically grounded, this book draws together important threads in the contemporary study of sport to illuminate the relationship between sport and wider society. It will be fascinating reading for any student or researcher interested in the sociology of sport, Olympic studies, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial studies, indigenous studies, settler colonial studies or the politics of race and inclusion.

This volume unpicks mega-events as gendered entities and showcases how they both position athletes in relation to one of two binary sex positions and also push the boundaries of what we see and accept as a recognisably gendered male or female body.

This volume unpicks mega-events as gendered entities and showcases how they both position athletes in relation to one of two binary sex positions and also push the boundaries of what we see and accept as a recognisably gendered male or female body.

This book is the first comprehensive collection focusing on the hosting of sports mega-events within Asia and their impact on the politics, economics, and culture that shape, and are shaped by, the local idiosyncrasies of host cities and countries across this most culturally diverse continent. From the Olympic Games and single sport World Cups, to the Asian Games and their sub-regional variations, an increasing number of Asian countries have rapidly developed their capacity to host and mobilize large-scale sports events as a cornerstone of their economic growth, national identity formation, and international prestige. This book sets out to fill a gap in the literature and will be of particular relevance to those who are interested in globalization, sports studies, political economy, cultural studies, event management and policy, sociology, media studies, and Asian studies

The Routledge Handbook of Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights is the first book to explore in depth the topic of mega-sporting events (MSEs) and human rights, offering accounts of adverse human rights impacts linked to MSEs while considering the potential for promoting human rights in and through the framework of these events. Drawing on the contributions of an international group of leading researchers, practitioners and advocates, the book introduces key concepts in human rights and considers how they relate to ethical, social, managerial and governance issues in contemporary MSEs, from inclusion and welfare to corruption and sustainability. It examines the role of key stakeholders in the delivery of MSEs, including organising committees, sport governing bodies, governments, athletes, sponsors and broadcasters, as well as the role of activists and advocates, and presents historical and contemporary case studies of human rights as an active issue in MSEs. The book provides new perspectives on human rights as a lens for understanding modern sport and as a guiding principle for responsible sport that protects the interests of individuals and communities, as well as offering guidance on best practice. It is essential reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders with an interest in organisation and delivery of MSEs, as well as general sport management, sport policy, sport governance, the ethics of sport, event management, political science, development studies, ethical business or the significance of sport in wider society.

Sport has come to have an increasingly large impact on daily life and commerce across the globe. From mega-events, such as the World Cup or Super Bowl, to the early socialization of children into sport, the study of sport and society has developed as a distinctly wide-ranging scholarly enterprise, centered in sociology, sport studies, and cultural, media, and gender studies. In The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society, Lawrence Wenner brings together contributions from the world's leading scholars on sport and society to create the premier comprehensive and interdisciplinary reference for scholars and students looking to understand key areas of inquiry about the role and impacts of sport in contemporary culture. The Handbook offers penetrating analyses of the key ways that today's outsized sport is integrated into the lives of both athletes and fans and increasingly shapes the social fabric and cultural logics across the world. Featuring 85 leading international scholars, the volume is organized into six sections: society and values, enterprise and capital, participation and cultures, lifespan and careers, inclusion and exclusion, and spectator engagement and media. To aid comprehension and comparison, each chapter opens with a brief introduction to the area of research and features a common organizational scheme with three main sections of key issues, approaches, and debates to guide scholars and students to what is currently most important in the study of each area. Written at an accessible level and offering rich resources to further study each topic, this handbook is an essential resource for scholars and students as well as general readers who wish to understand the growing social, cultural, political, and economic influences of sport in society and our everyday lives.

Leisure, Racism, and National Populist Politics responds to the rise and revival of nationalistic, ethnocentric, and authoritarian forms of hegemony, power, and control. Importantly, as a collection of essays, it foregrounds and (re)politicises debates around race and racism, recognising the significance of leisure spaces to the emergence of bottom-up, polymorphous, and dynamic forms of community, resistance, and belonging. A range of authors present a critical and varied exploration of the global manifestations of state-based, increasingly mainstream, racist politics, whilst concomitantly unpicking connected assemblages of power and control. For example: how homonormativity and whiteness structure queer visibility, sexual and civic rights; how white supremacist rhetoric is transformed and differently coded through anti-Black university traditions and state pride; how Western nation-states structure Muslim identity as opposite to national identity; how leisure becomes the site of protest against larger classist and corporate ventures; and how the hegemony of neoliberal, state, and municipal planning practices, and policies about rights to spaces of the neighbourhood, city, and sport, are understood, negotiated, and challenged. The book serves to not only enhance understanding of populist politics but, also, to demand an end to ethnic and racial violence perpetuated through nationalistic and racialised discourses about belonging, citizenship, and social rights to the nation. This edited volume will be a key resource for students and scholars interested in the dynamics of race, gender, and nation, and the politics of belonging in the realm of leisure. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Leisure Studies.