Georgia Cervin – författare

How the Cold War era changed the trajectory of women's gymnastics Electrifying athletes like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci helped make women's artistic gymnastics one of the most popular events in the Olympic Games. But the transition of gymnastics from a women's sport to a girl's sport in the 1970s also laid the foundation for a system of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of gymnasts around the world. Georgia Cervin offers a unique history of women's gymnastics, examining how the high-stakes diplomatic rivalry of the Cold War created a breeding ground for exploitation. Yet, a surprising spirit of international collaboration arose to decide the social values and image of femininity demonstrated by the sport. Cervin also charts the changes in style, equipment, training, and participants that transformed the sport, as explosive athleticism replaced balletic grace and gymnastics dominance shifted from East to West. Sweeping and revelatory, Degrees of Difficulty tells a story of international friction, unexpected cooperation, and the legacy of abuse and betrayal created by the win-at-all-cost attitudes of the Cold War.

How the Cold War era changed the trajectory of women''s gymnastics Electrifying athletes like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci helped make women’s artistic gymnastics one of the most popular events in the Olympic Games. But the transition of gymnastics from a women’s sport to a girl’s sport in the 1970s also laid the foundation for a system of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of gymnasts around the world. Georgia Cervin offers a unique history of women''s gymnastics, examining how the high-stakes diplomatic rivalry of the Cold War created a breeding ground for exploitation. Yet, a surprising spirit of international collaboration arose to decide the social values and image of femininity demonstrated by the sport. Cervin also charts the changes in style, equipment, training, and participants that transformed the sport, as explosive athleticism replaced balletic grace and gymnastics dominance shifted from East to West.

Sweeping and revelatory, Degrees of Difficulty tells a story of international friction, unexpected cooperation, and the legacy of abuse and betrayal created by the win-at-all-cost attitudes of the Cold War.

How the Cold War era changed the trajectory of women's gymnastics Electrifying athletes like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci helped make women's artistic gymnastics one of the most popular events in the Olympic Games. But the transition of gymnastics from a women's sport to a girl's sport in the 1970s also laid the foundation for a system of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of gymnasts around the world. Georgia Cervin offers a unique history of women's gymnastics, examining how the high-stakes diplomatic rivalry of the Cold War created a breeding ground for exploitation. Yet, a surprising spirit of international collaboration arose to decide the social values and image of femininity demonstrated by the sport. Cervin also charts the changes in style, equipment, training, and participants that transformed the sport, as explosive athleticism replaced balletic grace and gymnastics dominance shifted from East to West. Sweeping and revelatory, Degrees of Difficulty tells a story of international friction, unexpected cooperation, and the legacy of abuse and betrayal created by the win-at-all-cost attitudes of the Cold War.

Sport has never been a man’s world. As this volume shows, women have served key roles not only as athletes and spectators, but as administrators, workers, decision-makers, and leaders in sporting organizations around the world. Contributors excavate scarce archival material to uncover histories of women’s work in sport, from swimming teachers in nineteenth-century England to national sports administrators in twentieth-century Côte d’Ivoire, and many places in between. Their work has been varied, holding roles as teachers, wives, and secretaries in sporting contexts around the world, often with diplomatic functions—including at the 1968 and 1992 Olympic Games. Finally, this collection shows how gender initiatives have developed in sporting institutions in Europe and international sport federations today. With a foreword by Grégory Quin and afterword by Anaïs Bohuon, this is a pioneering study into gender and women’s work in global sport.

Sport has never been a man’s world. As this volume shows, women have served key roles not only as athletes and spectators, but as administrators, workers, decision-makers, and leaders in sporting organizations around the world. Contributors excavate scarce archival material to uncover histories of women’s work in sport, from swimming teachers in nineteenth-century England to national sports administrators in twentieth-century Côte d’Ivoire, and many places in between. Their work has been varied, holding roles as teachers, wives, and secretaries in sporting contexts around the world, often with diplomatic functions—including at the 1968 and 1992 Olympic Games. Finally, this collection shows how gender initiatives have developed in sporting institutions in Europe and international sport federations today. With a foreword by Grégory Quin and afterword by Anaïs Bohuon, this is a pioneering study into gender and women’s work in global sport.