2017 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities

June 01 - 04, 2017

This interdisciplinary group of scholars will explore sports as a site for constructing and contesting gendered and sexual identities. With the physicality required for athletic competition, projections of bodily character often inform fan and athlete expectations. As such, sport historically has reinforced heteronormativity, yet this panel reconsiders the codes of gender and sexuality positioned within such contests. Soccer and rodeo are sports deeply connected to iconic identity typing in popular culture. Indeed, the image of the soccer player and rodeo contestant conjure associations ranging from attire and body type to gender and sexual orientation. By exploring representations of, and performances within, soccer and rodeo, this panel deconstructs the visual codes of identity in popular sport. The panelists use methodological approaches from the fields of history, gender studies, and art history to examine athletic competition, physical and gender performance, and visual culture. The diversity in approach and topic allows the papers to reveal telling realities about women in sport and their visual representation, whether performed or represented.