A post-colonial critique of the international ‘movements’ for women and sexuality in sport

The existence of a variety of international organisations, networks, and individuals working to break down barriers for women in sport has been collectively recognised as 'a social movement which reputedly represents a global community of women from different countries and social and cultural groups throughout the world'(Hargreaves, 2000, p. 215). The shared mission of these groups is to break down participation barriers and enhance sporting opportunities for marginalised groups, particularly with respect to gender and sexuality issues. This chapter will draw on post-colonial feminist theory in order to critically evaluate the argument that policies have been dominated by Western ideologies, and to question whether there has ever even been a coherent 'movement'for gender and sexuality issues in sport. With no concrete framework of analysis, post-colonial feminism allows researchers …