The Intersections of Race, Gender, and (Dis)ability in Sport

Submission Date

7-24-2026

Document Type

Paper

Department

History

Faculty Mentor

Johanna Mellis

Comments

Presented during the 28th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 24, 2026 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

Sports are a huge part of American culture. They exist as an entertainment industry, a job market, and a place of fun and fulfillment. Reaching hundreds of millions of people, athletics experience diverse engagement. This varied engagement, particularly with marginalized folks, is shaped by the way their identities and sports culture interact. Athletes of color, female and transgender athletes, and disabled athletes all face distinct forms of abuse in sports that I argue stem from the same place: capitalism, and an obsession with ability and fairness specifically tied to white supremacy. Drawing from Anthropology, History, and African American, Disability, Gender, and Sports Studies, I employ a historical and contemporary approach to the experiences of and attitudes around marginalized athletes’ participation in amateur and professional sports. This research is done primarily through readings of books, articles, and reports. However, my own experience as someone who has played sports since very young, hold an important place too. This project prioritizes an intersectional approach, keeping in mind how people can hold more than one disenfranchised role – and how those identities converge to create unique existences and forms of oppression.

Link to Full Text

Open Access

Available to all.

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