North American Society for the Sociology of Sport 2020 Conference: Women of Color in Sport, Higher Education, and Society
NASSS Mission
The North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) exists to promote, stimulate, and encourage the sociological study of play, games, sport and contemporary physical culture.
NASSS History
At the end of the final session of the 2nd Big Ten CIC Symposium on the Sociology of Sport at the University of Minnesota (1978), Andrew Yiannakis called for the formation of a sociology of sport society. A group of about twenty interested members endorsed the need to form such a society and called for the formation of a steering committee composed of Susan Greendorfer, Lee Vander Velden, Peggy Cramer, Eldon Snyder and Yiannakis. Yiannakis was appointed Chair of this committee, Susan Greendorfer assumed the position of Treasurer and Lee Vander Velden became Secretary. The steering committee was entrusted with the task of starting a newsletter, collecting membership dues, planning for an annual conference and investigating the feasibility of starting a journal. The first newsletter, known as The NASSS Newsletter, was published in December of 1978. Andrew Yiannakis was the first editor and was later joined by John Sugden, who assumed the role of associate editor.
Founders: Andrew Yiannakis, Susan Greendorfer
Founding Members: George Sage, March Krotee, Eldon Snyder, Elmer Spreitzer, Lee Vander Velden, Peggy Cramer, Jim Bryant, Merrill Melnick, Tom McIntyre, Janet Harris, Jim Frey, Joel Thirer, Rich Lapchick, Dean Anderson, Gunther Lueschen, Jim Santomeir, Fred Hatfield, Dan Landers and Jim Lapoint.
GUARDING THE GATES: WOMEN OF COLOR IN SPORT, HIGHER EDUCATION, & SOCIETY
In 1966, Nina Simone released Four Women, a song that illuminated four pervasive stereotypes of Black women in the United States. From “Aunt Sarah” to “Saffronia” to “Sweet Thing” to “Peaches”, these stereotypes conveyed the cultural lineage of Black women’s marginality in society. Today these stereotypes continue to prevail in society and in sport through Collins (2000) historical images of the Jezebel to the Angry Black woman. The effects of these negative stereotypes are negative media images and the persistent underrepresentation of an ever-growing qualified collective of Black women and women of color.illuminate the experiential challenges for women of color in sport; provide coping strategies to navigate the resultant challenges; and, actively elucidate best practices to aid in the systemic decolonization of institutions to include;
higher education,
collegiate athletics, and
the range of sport and sport-related organizations.
Black women experience a variety of mental health challenges performing their daily duties and navigating their professional careers. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to unpack the sources of Black sportswomen’s mental health challenges that work as professional coaches, staff, and administrators within collegiate athletics. The examination utilized Collins’ (1990) Black feminist thought to center Black women and Bronfenbrenner’s Social Eecological Model (SEM) to articulate the multilevel interplay of human development on mental health and wellness. The findings revealed that despite diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, historical, cultural, and social norms and the lack of numerical representation as professionals remain influential factors in Black professional sportswomen’s career development and their ability to access and receive support services. Multilevel solutions acknowledging the individual/intrapersonal (microsystem), interpersonal engagements (mesosystem), organizational communities (exosystem), and global awareness (macrosystem) are presented to address Black women’s mental health and wellness challenges.
Discussants:
DR. AKILAH R. CARTER-FRANCIQUE - SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY,
DR. COURTNEY FLOWERS - TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY,
DR. JASMINE HAMILTON - PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY,
DR. JOYCE OLUSHOLA-OGUNRINDE - UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON,
DR. JACQUELINE MCDOWELL - GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY,
DR. F. MICHELLE RICHARDSON - COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY