Speaker
Description
This presentation explores how new materialist theory, specifically Jane Bennett’s vital materialism, can contribute to the field of sport sociology. Within vital materialism, Bennett stresses the vitality of the nonhuman, encouraging scholars to recognize the “thing-power” of objects in worldly phenomena and emphasizing the inseparable connections between humans and the nonhuman. To explore the potential of using thing-power and vital materialism for studying objects in sport, this presentation will draw upon research conducted around two objects at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics; unitards worn by the German Artistic Gymnastics Teams and a swim cap designed for Black hair, banned by FINA prior to the Tokyo Olympics. Using a thematic analysis of popular press published during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, this research highlights the multiple ideas and stories developed in response to the objects. In so doing, it speaks towards the ways in which objects were integral actants and helped ignite conversations around the treatment of gender, the sexualization of female athletes, and the racism and exclusionary practices of elite swimming. Using this research as an example, the presentation will discuss the possibilities and implications of using vital materialism and thing-power across the socio-cultural study of sport and its potential to lead to innovative and impactful scholarship.
