Thinking and Doing Intersectionality in Sociology of Sport

Book excerpt: Intersectionality has become a defining paradigm for critical feminist scholarship. Rooted in Black Feminism, it recognizes the interlocking and mutually constitutive character of salient systems of difference and inequality, such as gender, race, class, sexuality, nationality, disability, which together form a “matrix of domination” (Collins, 1990). While intersectionality has become a “buzzword” for feminist scholars and activists (Davis, 2008), it has also attracted criticism and debate. There are unresolved questions concerning how it can be conceptualized (Choo & Ferree, 2010), operationalized in sociological research (McCall, 2005; Strid, Walby, and Armstrong, 2013), and put to practical use beyond the academy (Cho, Crenshaw, & McCall, 2013). So, too, are scholars and activists questioning whether intersectionality has been overly “commodified” and “appropriated” by white feminisms and disconnected from its radical origins (Nash, 2019). In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its intersectional impacts, as well as the recent intensification of activism and protest related to racialized and gendered injustices, the moment is ripe to revisit and reflect on the concept of intersectionality, including within the field of sociology of sport. While sport clearly lends itself to intersectional analysis (Carter-Francique, 2017), to date there has not been a systematic effort to consider where and how the concept of intersectionality fits within the sociology of sport as a discipline. It is precisely this project that this Research topic invites. Taking up the three key axes that have organized intersectionality scholarship to date––theory, methods, and practice––we ask: How has intersectional theorizing and analysis figured within sociology of sport to date? What explanatory power does it offer as a framework for investigating power and inequality in sport, and what are its limitations? How might its application in the context of sport advance sociological approaches to intersectionality as a methodology? Critically, via what practices might intersectional empowerment be realized in sport? What does activism for––and the organization of––intersectional justice in sport look like? Given the breadth of issues, research sites, and theoretical paradigms taken up to date within sociology of sport, we suggest that the discipline offers an ideal setting in which to unpack the complexity of intersectional processes and politics. We suggest further that the current moment is ripe for such an intervention: from the impacts of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, to the uneven effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sporting world, intersectional analyses are needed to address the pressing inequalities that continue to characterize sport and animate the field.