Kutte Jönsson

Who's Afraid of Stella Walsh? On Gender, "Gene Cheaters" and the Promises of Cyborg Athletes

In this article, I argue that there are moral reasons to embrace the construction of self-designing and sex/gender-neutral cyborg athletes. In fact, with the prospect of advanced genetic and cyborg technology, we may face a future where sport (as we know it) occurs in its purest form; that is, where athletes get evaluated by athletic performance only and not by their gender, and where it becomes impossible to discriminate athletes based on their body constitution and gender identity. The gender constructions within sports and sports culture are solid, however. Here, I argue that the rough distinctions we use to define people in terms of sex/gender tend to create and recreate old-fashioned and discriminatory sex/gender-boundaries. A morally reasonable way of meeting this issue, is to say that the problem is not the individuals who (for one reason or another) transcend certain gender categories, but the categories in themselves.

Sport beyond gender and the emergence of cyborg athletes

The essay is based on two premises: (1) sports culture (as we know it) is based upon rather specific (masculine) gender structures; (2) technological innovations play a significant role in modern sport. I combine these two premises and discuss whether technologies can be used as tools in order to make sport gender neutral and therefore more genuine or authentic. I argue that we have good reasons to make such a claim, based on the fast development of sport technology as a whole. But this claim is not unproblematic. In fact, the main problem may not be the advantages that come with the technologies, but that we tend to hold on to conservative ideas regarding gender. Nonetheless, perhaps the development of sport technologies may undermine the foundation of gender, which may in turn lead to the birth of a new kind of athlete: (non-gendered) cyborg athletes.

Paralympics and the Fabrication of 'Freak Shows' : On Aesthetics and Abjection in Sport

Abstract Two years before the opening of the Paralympic Games in London in 2012, the British TV network Channel 4 launched a campaign called Freaks of Nature. As part of the campaign they produced the short film Meet the Superhumans by director Tom Tagholm. The film became an immediate success, but was also criticised for portraying the Paralympians as ‘freaks’ and for reducing the Paralympics to a ‘freak show’. But was it wrong to describe the Paralympics as a ‘freak show’? Is there even a point of using the term ‘freak show’ in relation to sports? There might be, and that is what I am discussing in this paper. To be more specific, I am proposing that the term ‘freak show’ can challenge and destabilise common aesthetic views in sport, simply by the adding of abject dimensions to the athletic performances. From this one can claim that the Paralympics reconnects to the freak show-tradition of the past. And that, in itself, can have a moral and political impact.

Introduction: the blend of science and sport

Science and sport are evidently two prominent features of modern societies, however in widely differing ways. Thus, this volume of Sport in Society deals with the interrelationship of these two dec...

Situated knowledges, sports and the sport science question

Abstract In this article, I will elaborate on the feminist scholar Donna Haraway’s understanding of the concept of situated knowledges. I believe it is a concept that can be usefully applied to sports and sport science, in that it may create stories about the intertwined relationship between sport science and the narratives of sport science – stories we can believe in.

Introduction (to special issue Directions in Contemporary and Future Sport Guest)

Sport matters is a common attitude towards the power and impact of sport. Sport, it is stated, supports a healthy life and public health, generates self-esteem and integrates individuals in society, not to mention its merit as entertainment and excitement, and as a lifestyle and consumer market. Additionally, sport expects to create political images for nations as well as for city-marketing, tourism and economic growth. Along with these attributes, it is argued, sport contributes to moral learning and to rule-orientation in society in general and, consequently, it stands out as an interesting educating and moral arena, significant in the development of society and everyday life. In addition, sport has always been closely connected with technical development, in relation to the media as well as to equipment and the manipulation of the body. In this respect ICT development brings sport to a ‘cyberutopian’ dimension and in that light challenges our understanding and conception of sport. Furthermore, due to increasing globalization, commercialization and professionalization, sport seems to be in a process of transition towards political and economic influences from the market and the political-legal system. Undoubtedly, the impact of the market and an increasing seriousness in sport call for superior professionalism and an optional system of intervention in sport. Consequently, different professional interests as well as commercial concerns have recently entered the sport field at a more advanced degree. This increasing interest can also be located in the escalating number of universities developing programmes in sport studies (sociology and political science) and sport management (law and economics). In the wake of increasing professionalization and commercialization, sport organizations and the autonomy of sport have been challenged by different normative structures in society, such as the political-legal system, the market and civil society. In this respect, what will the future offer sport and, on the other hand, what can sport bring about for the future? Without doubt, an interesting perspective in sport sciences, in light of a social and cultural perspective, is to present and analyse the development of sport and the image of sport in a future society. This discussion becomes even more important in relation to education in sport science, due to the fact that we speak of sport in transition, in the wake of the increasing commercialization, professionalization and globalization of sport. In this light, students and academics in sport sciences have to face new trends in the development, as well as new professions. This knowledge and understanding of sport, in addition to the experiences of the sport tradition, will contribute to more comprehensive skills.