Gender and Racial Analysis in Sport: Are All the Women White and All the Blacks Men?

Abstract

Critical race scholarship focuses on people of color, women, and the intersection of race and gender. Conversely, sport scholarship has refl ected the dominant White male culture. Sport culture ignores the experience of women and people of color, and most specifi cally ignores women who are people of color. This paper provides an overview of the existing sport literature and presents an introduction to the theory and literature on African American women in sport with particular attention to representation and silencing, socialization, and stereotyping. Sport scholars are encouraged to realize that all the women are not White and all the Blacks are not men (Hull, Scott, & Smith, 1982), and that those individuals can have different experiences becoming involved and staying involved in sport.