From Goodwill Girls to Flo Jo Barbie: Global Games and the Commodification of Black Women's Athletic Bodies

Wilma Rudolph beamed as she watched her Olympic records fall at the feet of Florence Griffith Joyner. Rudolph, the three time gold medalist, saw Flo Jo as a continuation of her legacy and the longer history of black women in the Olympics. “When she ran, I ran,” Rudolph explained. Despite obtaining similar accomplishments on the track, the athletic career of Rudolph in the 1960s and Flo Jo in the 1980s differed mightily. Rudolph competed at a time when amateurism ruled track and field and despite her worldwide popularity, she generated little compensation for her efforts. In contrast, Flo Jo had global endorsements, lucrative business deals and even a Barbie doll.

This paper examines the careers of Rudolph and Joyner and the efforts of black women Olympians to capitalize on their athletic achievements. Moreover, by paying attention to the way the US State Department used Rudolph and other athletic black women to advanced US financial interests abroad, this paper situates Flo Jo’s international marketing onto a longer history of black women Olympians and global capitalism. Using newspapers clippings, oral histories, and business records, this paper revels black women Olympians’ struggles against exploitation and commodification while also detailing their attempts to capitalize on and be compensated for their athletic labor.