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'Sex, Gender and Sexuality In Sport' Research Is Opening Eyes Across Arizona State University

sex, gender and sexuality in sport
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'Sex, Gender and Sexuality In Sport' Research Is Opening Eyes Across Arizona State University

Why this matters

Innovators across Arizona State University during this academic year have begun interdisciplinary research into the field of sex, gender and sexuality in sport, from physical performance to psychological development.

Monthly Issue Beyond the Binary in Sport

At the Global Sport Institute, research does not just mean internal Field Studies from our lab or innovative polling, but also funding for faculty across Arizona State University for interdisciplinary investigations into issues across sport. During the 2020-21 academic year, the Global Sport Institute specifically funded projects that probed further on matters of sex, gender and sexuality in sport.

"It's far deeper than any one research lab can do," says Dr. Scott Brooks, the director of research at the Global Sport Institute. "We can call upon researchers at our university and at global partners to speak upon those critical issues that we all need to look at."

As the Global Sport Matters June Digital Issue, "Beyond the Binary in Sport," continues to broach these topics through written, audio and live video content, researchers at ASU continue to inform this content with their research.

From storytelling for gender minority athletes to the lived experiences of women, girls and trans men who have been "the only girl on the team" to finding belonging through sport, many of these researchers aim to delve into the function of gender in sport as it takes on a spotlight in American society. Other projects, such as a study on brain stimulation and motor performance relative to athletes' assigned sex at birth.

Above you can see an early look at these researchers' work in the field of sex, gender and sexuality in sport, and a bit more about the goals this academic year at the Global Sport Institute.

Monthly Issue

Beyond the Binary in Sport

The spectra of sex, gender, and sexuality challenge our traditional understanding of sport and competition, but are increasingly central to the conversation around athlete and fan experience.

With legislation and organizing increasing around how these various identities intersect, sport makes a natural landscape for discourse and broadening our knowledge of these conversations. How are perspectives changing, and what can we discover by diving into the multitudes underneath these nuanced topics?