*Content Warning: this episode explores the topics of physical, mental, and sexual abuse in sport*
In the second episode with Georgia Cervin on the international history of women’s artistic gymnastics, we tackle the topic of abuse and especially sexual abuse in the sport. Georgia explains how contrary to contemporary popular media portrayals, American gymnastics’ coaching culture was rife with abusive elements before the Karolyi’s and Nasser arrived on the scene, as famous gymnast Jennifer Sey has repeatedly spoken about in her published work and public speaking. The Karolyi’s built on the cultural foundations of American gymnastics when they arrived, thereby contributing to—but not instigating—the abuse of girl gymnasts.
Georgia moreover gives us her take on the recent documentary Athlete A. While she explains her critiques of it, Georgia also shares with us what Athlete A does really well in portraying the women’s story to the audience. As a former gymnastics coach herself, we discuss the limited training opportunities for coaches based in healthy and educational methods. Lastly, we hear about Georgia’s recent collaborative work interviewing former elite gymnasts and providing practical suggestions to FIG and other gymnastics national governing bodies on healthier coaching practices (which were almost categorically ignored), and why women’s artistic gymnastics can and should be a feminist sport. She cites the resurgence of adult female gymnasts, using 45-year-old Oksana Chusovitina and 32-year-old Chellsie Memmel (with an IG following of nearly 45k!) as a positive trend for the sport.
If you missed it, don’t forget to check out the first episode with Georgia that provides the pre-Karolyi history of the sport!
You can find out more about Georgia Cervin and her work on her website.
Her collaborative report on how to healthily sustain gymnasts’ careers into adulthood, which was almost completely ignored by the sport’s most important bodies and leaders: “Coming of Age: Towards Best Practices in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.”
Instagram account for Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 World Champion who is documenting her adult gymnastics journey and has nearly 45k followers.
After listening to the episode, check out our recent piece "Canceling the College-Football Season Isn't Enough" published in The Chronicle of Higher Education
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@Derekcrim
@JohannaMellis
@Nkalamb
@EndofSportPod
www.TheEndofSport.com
**For a transcription of this episode please click here. Huge thanks to @Punkadmic for making this happen!**
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Episode 135: Hungary, Sportswashing, and Global Fascism
Episode 134: Masculinities and Sport with Raewyn Connell
Episode 133: Gunpower and Sports with Patrick Blanchfield
Episode 132: The Barstool Sports Episode
Episode 131: College Sport NLRB Extravaganza
Episode 130: The Definitive Netflix Sports Rankings
Episode 129: Higher Ed 'Crisis' with Asheesh Kapur Siddique and Joe Darda
Episode 128: On The PWHL with Liz Knox
Episode 127: Gaza Genocide and Sporting Politics with Karim Zidan
Episode 126: Football, Manliness, and the Conjuncture
Episode 125: Israel and Russia Don't Belong in Paris 2024
Episode 124: The Swiftie Bowl
Episode 123: Palestine Solidarity
Episode 122: Why Canada Needs a Judicial Inquiry into Sport
Episode 121: Anti-trans Discourse, Sport, and our Fascist Moment
Episode 120: Another College Sport Apocalypse
Episode 119: The End of College Football (A Preview)
Episode 118: What is Hockey Culture? with Kristi Allain
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