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1 – 10 of 16Analysing the intersectional race and gender politics of the England women's national team, this chapter, based on oral history interviews, shows the historical forces shaping the…
Abstract
Analysing the intersectional race and gender politics of the England women's national team, this chapter, based on oral history interviews, shows the historical forces shaping the diversity of the squad over time, from 1972 to the present. Class is important here, as many of the first black and mixed heritage England women players were the daughters of the Windrush generation of Caribbean migrants who settled in working-class areas of urban, and to a lesser extent, rural England. In the case of London-based players, this gave a proximity to important development centres, available by public transport. In the case of Kerry Davis, from Stoke on Trent, access to private transport was important. As head coach, Hope Powell oversaw the first Black-British captain of an England women's side, but when succeeded by Mark Sampson much of this development receded, notably as Eni Aluko, a centurion capped star of Nigerian descent was de-selected for ‘Unlioness behaviour’. In the ensuing legal analysis, the FA showed itself to lack awareness of diversity and inclusion issues in its own sport. The chapter analyses the effect of this, on an England team that includes several high profile LGBTQ+ stars, which is diverse in different ways than the England men's team.
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Ralph Bathurst and Anne Messervy
Bill Clinton is exemplary of a new conception of leadership appropriate for the 21st century. In spite of his sexual proclivities (for which he received harsh criticism and…
Abstract
Bill Clinton is exemplary of a new conception of leadership appropriate for the 21st century. In spite of his sexual proclivities (for which he received harsh criticism and impeachment proceedings) Clinton’s physicality signals an end of a Gnostic view of leadership that separates the knowing head from the rest of the body. We propose that 20th century manifestations of leadership are no longer appropriate for this age, and we illustrate this idea with the ‘reality’ television series Undercover Boss. Further, by exploring artist Peter Robinson’s installation The End of the Twentieth Century we claim that Clinton’s call for inclusivity, a ‘both–and’ approach that characterizes his late- and post-Presidential rhetoric, opens possibilities for alternative constructs that place the body at the heart of leadership. Our exploration of Clinton’s physicality is through his speech to the APEC business leaders in 1999, his commentary on the movie documentary The Hunting of the President and his speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In each of these he reaches out to his audiences through physical and verbal gestures. He pleads for tolerance and understanding so that people may find commonalities among their flaws and differences. Through enacting the physical ‘doing’ of leadership in these instances, Bill Clinton offers an exemplar of re-locating leadership within its physical context.
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Ally Forbes, Kay Biscomb and Jean Williams
The launch of the Football Association's (FA) Women's Super League in 2011 was a major milestone towards the professionalisation of women's football in England. The league's…
Abstract
The launch of the Football Association's (FA) Women's Super League in 2011 was a major milestone towards the professionalisation of women's football in England. The league's formation aimed to increase the competitiveness of elite women's football in England at domestic and international level (Dunn & Welford, 2015). In 2014 the league expanded, creating a second division now known as the FA Women's Championship. This chapter explores the impact of the professionalisation of women's football in England on the second tier of women's football, by examining how players and staff at a Women's Championship club are negotiating the transition from amateur to semi-professional status. This qualitative project adopted a single case-study approach. Observations took place on home match-days to explore the match-day experience. Follow-up semi-structured interviews were then carried out with players and staff. The empirical data highlighted the key challenges and opportunities faced by clubs and their players as women's football continues to develop in this professional era. The introduction of the Women's Championship has helped to bridge the gap between amateur and professional club football in England. However, the experiences of the players and staff illustrate that operating effectively in the Women's Championship required significant sacrifice. Players were required to meet the more professional demands that were being placed upon them, without receiving any significant financial rewards for their commitments. Paid staff roles were underpinned by precarity, with the funded staff roles disappearing should the club not be able to maintain its Championship status.
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