IAS Thursdays: The WNBA: Sport as Spectacle and the Politics of Sport

Mary G. McDonald: Homer C. Rice Chair of Sports and Society, ADVANCE Professor, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology

In recent years, WNBA players have received media attention for their activism off the court, including in their fight against police brutality, institutional racism, and gun violence. These developments build upon a rich history of competing ideologies and economic forces, which continue to shape the league and broader culture. Drawing upon feminist and cultural studies perspectives, this conversation will return to the 1997 founding of the league and trace the neoliberal, racialized, and gender politics at play. How has the WNBA linked itself to a type of postfeminism by projecting images of empowerment and rugged individualism without sufficiently attending to cultural barriers within and beyond the sport? Beyond this, how do sports help to reveal the contested terrain of gender and race relations?

At the Institute for Advanced Study, IAS Thursdays offer a diverse array of ideas, conversations, and perspectives that reflect the core values of the University of Minnesota. IAS Thursdays are tailored to accommodate scholars from all diverse backgrounds, and all members of the public are welcome to attend.

Part of IAS Thursdays