Gender and sports series to feature marathon pioneer, author, panelists

SUNY Oswego’s Bob ‘78 and Robbi Feinberg Family Fund, established by alumnus Robert Feinberg and his wife, will sponsor a series of events on gender and sports this spring, starting with a panel discussion and culminating with an appearance by Kathrine Switzer, first woman to enter and complete the Boston Marathon.

All events in the series are free and open to the public.

The panel will make a presentation titled “Gender and Sports” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Room 201 of Marano Campus Center. Panelists are Sharity Bassett, an instructor in the college’s gender and women’s studies program; Tracy Bruno, Laker women’s basketball coach; and sociology faculty member Eve Benavides Clark.

Bassett will discuss the gendering of lacrosse in Haudenosaunee communities, specifically in regard to sovereignty as well as Western imperialist representations of this gendering. Bruno will talk about the sexualization of the female athlete. Clark will look at sports, gender and deviance, especially in ways where successful women athletes are labeled deviant—even as “men”—and how this prevents them from getting the benefits of sports.

On March 31, Susan Ware, author of “Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports,” will speak at 6 p.m. March 31 in Marano Campus Center auditorium. In the book, Ware argues that King’s challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a women’s sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society.

Switzer—who famously completed the Boston Marathon in 1967 after race official Jock Semple tried to tear off her race number and deny her a place in sports history—will make a presentation at 6 p.m. April 26 in Sheldon Hall ballroom. An accomplished speaker for many years, Switzer brings a message that goes beyond running to creating success in a difficult environment, turning negatives into opportunities, and fearlessly implementing social and cultural change.

Robert and Robbi Feinberg established their family fund in 2003 to endow a college lecture series on women and the workplace.

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