Description:
Although social justice initiatives in education and the workplace have decades-long histories, sport has been slow to follow. In the areas of sport policies, sport practices and sport scholarship, liberal/reform approaches dominate, while the structural roots of injustice - racism, colonialism, misogyny, disablism, homophobia and transphobia - remain largely unchanged.
Use and misuse of sport sciences contributes to this pattern, and the Olympic industry serves as the machine driving these forces.
Applying an intersectional analysis, the book examines issues of sex/gender/sexualities, disability, Global North/Global South disparities, doping, and violence in all its forms. A discussion of action and outlaw sports as a route to empowerment is followed by an exploration of community-based initiatives and a model for physical activity that puts joy at the centre of human movement.
Review Quotes:
I used to ask my students to imagine a world without elite competitive sport--and they couldn't. It's everywhere: in schools, on screens, billboards, and in our feeds. No wonder it's hard to see past it.
In this accessible and thought-provoking book, Helen Lenskyj not only challenges us to imagine alternatives--she shows us what they look like. Through a sharp critique of how colonial norms, binary thinking, and the Olympic industry have shaped the last half-century of sport, she outlines the deep inequalities built into the system. But this isn't just critique--it's a reimagining.
By centering the voices of activists and scholars, and spotlighting vibrant, community-based forms of movement, Lenskyj offers a vision rooted in joy, justice, and belonging. And maybe--just maybe--it'll help the next generation see beyond the narrow confines of elite sport and toward something more inclusive, more humane, and more hopeful.
--Janice Forsyth, Professor, Indigenous Land-Based Physical Culture and Wellness Kinesiology, University of British Columbia