Here's a bold move in this era of big-time sports: Spelman College is eliminating its intercollegiate athletics program at the end of the year. The all-female HBCU, lead by President Beverly Daniel Tatum, will take the $1 million annual budget for athletics and use to establish fitness programs to … [Read more...]
Poetry Friday
This poem by Alicia Ostriker is from the current issue of Massachusetts Review. It was posted at Poetry Daily recently. I've been doing a lot of talking in my classes about more complex understandings of race, so this fits in quite well.They Speak of Race Honey I am one gorgeous permanent waveof … [Read more...]
Vonn seeks a Sorenstam moment
I'm not the only one trying to get back on course (sorry for the lack of blogging). Professional skiers start their competitive season soon. And American skier Lindsey Vonn, the it girl (much to Julia Mancuso's dismay) of the last winter Olympics, is looking to compete against the men in the first … [Read more...]
The cautious progress narrative?
I started reading this column with a little hesitation. The end of the Kournikova era? Really? Are not female athletes, including the columnist's celebrated Alex Morgan, still stripping down to promote their bodies, um, er, their sport, um...? Yes, it's still happening. It's still problematic.What's … [Read more...]
More on the size of female Olympians
This is a brief follow-up--or in-addition-to--to the post about the lack of larger sized apparel for this summer's female Olympians.Apparently--and I had not been aware of this--several female athletes competing in London have been scrutinized and commented on because of their weight leading into … [Read more...]
“Too big” for women’s clothes
This article features comments from US Olympic weightlifter Sarah Robles about how athletic gear is not made for larger women. One could argue that clothes in general are not made for larger women. But Robles point is that she, as a heavyweight lifter--an athlete, has to wear the clothes for men … [Read more...]
Yes, Virginia, there’s still homophobia in women’s sports
Anti-gay tweets are not that unusual. Anti-gay sentiments among athletes are not especially surprising either. Regarding the latter, though, most public anti-gay statements have been confined to the world of professional men's athletics. (Though more straight male professional athletes are voicing … [Read more...]
Forget pink shirts and caps…
...show your fandom in your feet, females!Fan gear that limits your activity level.This is something to put in my female fandom file for that not-yet-written article. Previous commentary on this issue has been about 1) pink apparel or 2) heteronormative marketing. My last post on the heteronormative … [Read more...]
Sam Stosur’s “style”
Sadly, I just watched Sam Stosur lose in the semifinals of Roland Garros to Sara Errani. Errani played very well and I kind of like her style. I hadn't paid too much attention to her prior to this run at the French. But I liked her glasses and bandana look from the quarters the other day. She looked … [Read more...]
Terms, time, and Title IX
This month marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX. Each anniversary engenders a good deal of media attention about the equity in education legislation, but this year, of course, the attention is greater. The Title IX Blog has been covering some of the anniversary coverage. A trend that I have … [Read more...]