Research

Dissertation:

My project sets the theoretical stage for Title IX becoming an idea that’s problematically tied to feminism (or faux-feminism). I look at what happens when discourses of empowerment and choice, tied to Title IX, travel from the United States. McRobbie claims “‘Feminism’ is instrumentalised, it is brought forward and claimed by Western governments, as a signal to the rest of the world that this is a key part of what freedom now means. Freedom is revitalized and brought up-to-date with this faux-feminism” (1).  In this vein, I look at case studies of female sporting projects that have travelled from the United States to analyze how they employ the rhetoric of Title IX to do work in other parts of the world. My case studies include sports-in-development projects, athlete endorsements, and international sporting competitions. I uncover how Title IX is employed to further the globalization of feminism and look at how that affects local situations, understanding the paradox of applying a kind of Title IX feminism across the world.