CFP: Special edition of Sport in Society: ‘Sex Integration in Sport and Physical Culture’

CFP for special edition of Sport in Society: ‘Sex Integration in Sport and Physical Culture’
Guest editors: Dr Alex Channon, Dr Thomas Fletcher, Dr Katherine Dashper and Dr Robert J. Lake

Over the past decade, scholars of sport and gender have begun to pay attention to the phenomenon of sex integration in sports and related physical cultural activities, exploring mixed-sex/co-ed classes, teams and competitions across a variety of contexts. This research has identified a number of moments in which normative conceptions of sex difference might be challenged and/or reaffirmed in such environments. While these works have been diverse in their empirical foci and theoretical frameworks, a key question nevertheless emerges from within them: how might mixed-sex/co-ed sports activities uniquely contribute toward either the amelioration, or perpetuation, of sexual hierarchies and the inequality these involve?

While a handful of papers have directly explored this key issue via in-depth contemporary or historical case studies of specific, mixed-sex sport and physical cultural settings, as well as some which have examined the legal and political implications of sex integration, this phenomenon remains significantly under-researched in comparison to the vast body of published literature dealing with sex, gender and sport more generally. This special edition of Sport in Society therefore aims to highlight contemporary research into sex integration in sport and physical culture, with a view to better establishing this phenomenon as a focal point of future efforts in the study of sport and gender.

While we are looking for papers which make an explicit contribution towards the central theoretical issue outlined above (i.e., mixed-sex activities’ relation to sexual hierarchy/inequity), we are open to papers featuring empirical research on a range of topics, such as:
 The lived experience of participants in a variety of mixed-sex/co-ed sports, including among traditionally segregated (e.g., team games) or integrated (e.g., dance) activities;
 Problems facing coaches, teachers, and other professionals (e.g., sport psychologists, medics, etc.) in mixed-sex settings;
 Legal issues, ethical debates and policy implications surrounding mixed-sex/co-ed sport;
 Media representation and discussion, and audience reception, of mixed-sex activities;
 The influence of religion in mixed-sex/co-ed settings;
 Gender issues with respect to mixed-sex/co-ed sports in schools, colleges, universities and other educational settings;
 Issues related to talent development in mixed-sex/co-ed sport settings;
 Economic issues related to the funding of mixed-sex/co-ed sports practices;
 The politics of exclusion in mixed-sex/co-ed sport settings.

We are keen to receive contributions based on original empirical research from colleagues working within fields including sociology, pedagogy, policy studies, history, sports development, media studies, and related disciplines. For further details, please contact any of the editorial team: Alex Channon (a.g.channon@gre.ac.uk); Thomas Fletcher (t.e.fletcher@leedsmet.ac.uk); Katherine Dashper (k.dashper@leedsmet.ac.uk); or Robert J. Lake (rlake@wlu.ca).

Deadline for 250-word abstracts: 1st June 2014 (decision on acceptance by 1st July 2014)
Proposed deadline for full submissions: 2nd March 2015