Megan Chawansky
Biographic Data
| ID | 164661 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Megan Chawansky |
| GIVEN NAMES | Megan |
| FAMILY NAME | Chawansky |
| SIGNATURE | CHAWANSKY M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Brighton |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
‘The gym is an island’ forced migration and youth sports: A case study of a Ukrainian youth basketball coach
Research on and about forced migration in sport has examined methodological, ethical and practical issues. However, it is rare to have real time accounts of how athletes and coaches navigate sports and sporting cultures during a period of forced migration. This research offers a single longitudinal case study to examine the experiences of a Ukrainian youth sport coach and her team who were forced to migrate to Latvia after Russia’s full-scale inv…
Introducing Sport, Gender and Development: A Critical Intersection
In recent years, sport has demonstrated its enormous capacity to propel women and girls' empowerment. It mobilizes the global community and speaks to youth. It unites across national barriers and cultural differences. It is a powerful tool to convey important messages in a positive and celebratory environmentoften to mass audiences. In addition, it teaches women and girls the values of teamwork, self-reliance and resilience; has a multiplier effe…
Sport, Gender and Development: Intersections, Innovations and Future Trajectories
Sport, Gender and Development brings together an exploration of sport feminisms to offer new approaches to research on Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) in global and local contexts
Innovations in ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ Research
Gender, embodiment and reflexivity in everyday spaces of development in Afghanistan
Located at the intersection of feminist geographies of development and embodiment, this paper explores the everyday gendered experiences of international women staff working for an education-related NGO in Afghanistan. Drawing from a larger study, this paper is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight international women who have spent extended periods of time working in Afghanistan. It reveals the various ways international staff …
The State of Play: Critical sociological insights into recent 'Sport for Development and Peace' research
The maturation of the field of 'Sport for Development and Peace' (SDP) is reflected in the growing number of research publications on the topic. This article focuses on a recent review of English-language research publications on SDP from 2000-2014 conducted by Schulenkorf et al. (2016. Sport for development: an integrated literature review. Journal of Sport Management 30: 22-39). We attempt to extend the analysis of current SDP research offered …
‘Once My Relatives See Me on Social Media… It Will be Something Very Bad for My Family’: The Ethics and Risks of Organizational Representations of Sporting Girls From the Global South
This paper explores the ethics of representing girls and young women from the global South in Sport for Development (SfD) organizational campaigns via the case of Skateistan—an international SfD organization with skateboarding and educational programs in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa. Focusing particularly on Skateistan’s representations of skateboarding girls and young women in Afghanistan, we draw upon interviews with staff members as…
Innovations in sport for development and peace research
This collection emerged from the Innovations in Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) Research Symposium held in Atlanta, GA, in 2016. The contributors explore new terrain in seeking to further an innovative agenda on SDP within development discourses and practices. The authors provide insights from plural empirical and theoretical domains, including critical, feminist, post-colonial, and cultural studies perspectives. A central goal of this coll…
The politics of pleasure in girl-centred sport for development programming
Examinations of pleasure are absent from much of the work that explores sport. This is surprising because of the frequent assertion that watching and playing sport is fun, enjoyable, or pleasurable. Similarly, a lack of discussion about pleasure exists in Sport for Development (SfD) programming. This article explores the presence and absence of pleasure in SfD projects that focus on girls’ empowerment through interviews with five SfD practitioner…
Be who you are and be proud: Brittney Griner, intersectional invisibility and digital possibilities for lesbian sporting celebrity
This article examines current professional basketball player, Brittney Griner, and the ways in which her personal and athletic lives are represented on social media. In particular, her visibility and posts on her public Instagram account allow for a consideration of the digital possibilities for social change by lesbian sporting celebrities. This analysis interrogates these possibilities through a close reading of several Instagram posts regardin…
Taking sex off the sidelines: Challenging heteronormativity within 'Sport in Development' research
The majority of 'Sport in Development' (SiD) research imparts a heteronormative framework that serves to prevent nuanced understandings of how sexuality and gender matter in programming that aspires to achieve development through/with sport. The authors review existing SiD academic literature and draw on personal work and research experiences within the SiD field to evidence this claim. Three reasons for this heteronormative frame are identified:…
You’re juicy: Autoethnography as evidence in sport for development and peace (SDP) research
Since gaining momentum in the early 2000s, critics and supporters of the sport for development and peace (SDP) movement have called for evidence to substantiate the claim that sport can deliver ‘social good’ for people and communities around the world. This paper aims to consider broad themes of epistemology and methodology in light of calls for evidence-based SDP research by presenting four autoethnographic vignettes from my work and research ex…
Wanting to be Anna: Examining Lesbian Sporting Celebrity on The L Word
This article adds to the limited literature on coming out and on lesbians in sport by highlighting the presence of lesbian sporting celebrity on Showtime's series The L Word. Through a reading of The L Word's character/professional athlete, Dana Fairbanks, we explore the economic impetus and the racial and classed undertones of corporatized coming out narratives. We devote considerable effort to unpacking Fairbanks' articulation that she wishes t…
Good Girls Play Sports: International inspiration and the construction of girlhood
Commentary on International Inspiration project and its relationship to girls
The recruit
This piece explores the possibilities of poetic representation within qualitative research on sport and exercise and subsequently engages with ongoing scholarly debates on representation, form, validity and methodology. The representation within this piece is part of a larger project which seeks to better understand women’s experiences as recruited athletes within the US intercollegiate sports system. To create this particular poetic representati…
Cruising for Olivia: Lesbian Celebrity and the Cultural Politics of Coming Out in Sport
This paper explores issues of sport, sponsorship, and consumption by critically interrogating the mass-mediated “coming out” narratives of professional golfer, Rosie Jones, and professional basketball player, Sheryl Swoopes. Both athletes came out publicly as gay in light of endorsements received by Olivia Cruises and Resorts—a company that serves lesbian travelers—thus marking a significant shift in the relationship between lesbian subjectivity,…
Letters to a Young Baller: Exploring Epistolary Criticism
This article explores the possibilities of epistolary criticism within the realm of sport studies and aspires to encourage scholars to consider the use of non-traditional sport memorabilia and source materials when telling emotive stories about sport and sport practices. The use of letters and the letter-writing format to tell a personal narrative of recruitment and to examine larger issues within athletic recruitment allows readers to intimately…
The State of Play: Critical sociological insights into recent 'Sport for Development and Peace' research
The maturation of the field of 'Sport for Development and Peace' (SDP) is reflected in the growing number of research publications on the topic. This article focuses on a recent review of English-language research publications on SDP from 2000-2014 conducted by Schulenkorf et al. (2016. Sport for development: an integrated literature review. Journal of Sport Management 30: 22-39). We attempt to extend the analysis of current SDP research offered …
Cruising for Olivia: Lesbian Celebrity and the Cultural Politics of Coming Out in Sport
This paper explores issues of sport, sponsorship, and consumption by critically interrogating the mass-mediated “coming out” narratives of professional golfer, Rosie Jones, and professional basketball player, Sheryl Swoopes. Both athletes came out publicly as gay in light of endorsements received by Olivia Cruises and Resorts—a company that serves lesbian travelers—thus marking a significant shift in the relationship between lesbian subjectivity,…
Be who you are and be proud: Brittney Griner, intersectional invisibility and digital possibilities for lesbian sporting celebrity
This article examines current professional basketball player, Brittney Griner, and the ways in which her personal and athletic lives are represented on social media. In particular, her visibility and posts on her public Instagram account allow for a consideration of the digital possibilities for social change by lesbian sporting celebrities. This analysis interrogates these possibilities through a close reading of several Instagram posts regardin…
Taking sex off the sidelines: Challenging heteronormativity within 'Sport in Development' research
The majority of 'Sport in Development' (SiD) research imparts a heteronormative framework that serves to prevent nuanced understandings of how sexuality and gender matter in programming that aspires to achieve development through/with sport. The authors review existing SiD academic literature and draw on personal work and research experiences within the SiD field to evidence this claim. Three reasons for this heteronormative frame are identified:…
Gender, embodiment and reflexivity in everyday spaces of development in Afghanistan
Located at the intersection of feminist geographies of development and embodiment, this paper explores the everyday gendered experiences of international women staff working for an education-related NGO in Afghanistan. Drawing from a larger study, this paper is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight international women who have spent extended periods of time working in Afghanistan. It reveals the various ways international staff …
Innovations in sport for development and peace research
This collection emerged from the Innovations in Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) Research Symposium held in Atlanta, GA, in 2016. The contributors explore new terrain in seeking to further an innovative agenda on SDP within development discourses and practices. The authors provide insights from plural empirical and theoretical domains, including critical, feminist, post-colonial, and cultural studies perspectives. A central goal of this coll…
The politics of pleasure in girl-centred sport for development programming
Examinations of pleasure are absent from much of the work that explores sport. This is surprising because of the frequent assertion that watching and playing sport is fun, enjoyable, or pleasurable. Similarly, a lack of discussion about pleasure exists in Sport for Development (SfD) programming. This article explores the presence and absence of pleasure in SfD projects that focus on girls’ empowerment through interviews with five SfD practitioner…
Good Girls Play Sports: International inspiration and the construction of girlhood
Commentary on International Inspiration project and its relationship to girls
Letters to a Young Baller: Exploring Epistolary Criticism
This article explores the possibilities of epistolary criticism within the realm of sport studies and aspires to encourage scholars to consider the use of non-traditional sport memorabilia and source materials when telling emotive stories about sport and sport practices. The use of letters and the letter-writing format to tell a personal narrative of recruitment and to examine larger issues within athletic recruitment allows readers to intimately…
Letters to a Young Baller: Exploring Epistolary Criticism
This article explores the possibilities of epistolary criticism within the realm of sport studies and aspires to encourage scholars to consider the use of non-traditional sport memorabilia and source materials when telling emotive stories about sport and sport practices. The use of letters and the letter-writing format to tell a personal narrative of recruitment and to examine larger issues within athletic recruitment allows readers to intimately…
The recruit
This piece explores the possibilities of poetic representation within qualitative research on sport and exercise and subsequently engages with ongoing scholarly debates on representation, form, validity and methodology. The representation within this piece is part of a larger project which seeks to better understand women’s experiences as recruited athletes within the US intercollegiate sports system. To create this particular poetic representati…
Cruising for Olivia: Lesbian Celebrity and the Cultural Politics of Coming Out in Sport
This paper explores issues of sport, sponsorship, and consumption by critically interrogating the mass-mediated “coming out” narratives of professional golfer, Rosie Jones, and professional basketball player, Sheryl Swoopes. Both athletes came out publicly as gay in light of endorsements received by Olivia Cruises and Resorts—a company that serves lesbian travelers—thus marking a significant shift in the relationship between lesbian subjectivity,…
Good Girls Play Sports: International inspiration and the construction of girlhood
Commentary on International Inspiration project and its relationship to girls
Wanting to be Anna: Examining Lesbian Sporting Celebrity on The L Word
This article adds to the limited literature on coming out and on lesbians in sport by highlighting the presence of lesbian sporting celebrity on Showtime's series The L Word. Through a reading of The L Word's character/professional athlete, Dana Fairbanks, we explore the economic impetus and the racial and classed undertones of corporatized coming out narratives. We devote considerable effort to unpacking Fairbanks' articulation that she wishes t…
You’re juicy: Autoethnography as evidence in sport for development and peace (SDP) research
Since gaining momentum in the early 2000s, critics and supporters of the sport for development and peace (SDP) movement have called for evidence to substantiate the claim that sport can deliver ‘social good’ for people and communities around the world. This paper aims to consider broad themes of epistemology and methodology in light of calls for evidence-based SDP research by presenting four autoethnographic vignettes from my work and research ex…
Be who you are and be proud: Brittney Griner, intersectional invisibility and digital possibilities for lesbian sporting celebrity
This article examines current professional basketball player, Brittney Griner, and the ways in which her personal and athletic lives are represented on social media. In particular, her visibility and posts on her public Instagram account allow for a consideration of the digital possibilities for social change by lesbian sporting celebrities. This analysis interrogates these possibilities through a close reading of several Instagram posts regardin…
Taking sex off the sidelines: Challenging heteronormativity within 'Sport in Development' research
The majority of 'Sport in Development' (SiD) research imparts a heteronormative framework that serves to prevent nuanced understandings of how sexuality and gender matter in programming that aspires to achieve development through/with sport. The authors review existing SiD academic literature and draw on personal work and research experiences within the SiD field to evidence this claim. Three reasons for this heteronormative frame are identified:…
‘Once My Relatives See Me on Social Media… It Will be Something Very Bad for My Family’: The Ethics and Risks of Organizational Representations of Sporting Girls From the Global South
This paper explores the ethics of representing girls and young women from the global South in Sport for Development (SfD) organizational campaigns via the case of Skateistan—an international SfD organization with skateboarding and educational programs in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa. Focusing particularly on Skateistan’s representations of skateboarding girls and young women in Afghanistan, we draw upon interviews with staff members as…
Innovations in sport for development and peace research
This collection emerged from the Innovations in Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) Research Symposium held in Atlanta, GA, in 2016. The contributors explore new terrain in seeking to further an innovative agenda on SDP within development discourses and practices. The authors provide insights from plural empirical and theoretical domains, including critical, feminist, post-colonial, and cultural studies perspectives. A central goal of this coll…
The politics of pleasure in girl-centred sport for development programming
Examinations of pleasure are absent from much of the work that explores sport. This is surprising because of the frequent assertion that watching and playing sport is fun, enjoyable, or pleasurable. Similarly, a lack of discussion about pleasure exists in Sport for Development (SfD) programming. This article explores the presence and absence of pleasure in SfD projects that focus on girls’ empowerment through interviews with five SfD practitioner…
The State of Play: Critical sociological insights into recent 'Sport for Development and Peace' research
The maturation of the field of 'Sport for Development and Peace' (SDP) is reflected in the growing number of research publications on the topic. This article focuses on a recent review of English-language research publications on SDP from 2000-2014 conducted by Schulenkorf et al. (2016. Sport for development: an integrated literature review. Journal of Sport Management 30: 22-39). We attempt to extend the analysis of current SDP research offered …
Innovations in ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ Research
Gender, embodiment and reflexivity in everyday spaces of development in Afghanistan
Located at the intersection of feminist geographies of development and embodiment, this paper explores the everyday gendered experiences of international women staff working for an education-related NGO in Afghanistan. Drawing from a larger study, this paper is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight international women who have spent extended periods of time working in Afghanistan. It reveals the various ways international staff …
Introducing Sport, Gender and Development: A Critical Intersection
In recent years, sport has demonstrated its enormous capacity to propel women and girls' empowerment. It mobilizes the global community and speaks to youth. It unites across national barriers and cultural differences. It is a powerful tool to convey important messages in a positive and celebratory environmentoften to mass audiences. In addition, it teaches women and girls the values of teamwork, self-reliance and resilience; has a multiplier effe…
Sport, Gender and Development: Intersections, Innovations and Future Trajectories
Sport, Gender and Development brings together an exploration of sport feminisms to offer new approaches to research on Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) in global and local contexts
‘The gym is an island’ forced migration and youth sports: A case study of a Ukrainian youth basketball coach
Research on and about forced migration in sport has examined methodological, ethical and practical issues. However, it is rare to have real time accounts of how athletes and coaches navigate sports and sporting cultures during a period of forced migration. This research offers a single longitudinal case study to examine the experiences of a Ukrainian youth sport coach and her team who were forced to migrate to Latvia after Russia’s full-scale inv…
Sport and Mega-Event Impacts (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Sports, Gender, and Society (14 works) · Political science (10 works) · Gender Studies (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Art (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Literature (6 works) · Physical Education and Pedagogy (6 works)