Books › Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Books › Biographies & Memoirs

The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports

Name: The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports
Price: 30.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$30.00

Buying Options

Description

Book Synopsis: The story of the early trans athletes and Olympic bureaucrats who lit the flame for today's culture wars. In December 1935, Zdeněk Koubek, one of the most famous sprinters in European women's sports, declared he was now living as a man. Around the same time, the celebrated British field athlete Mark Weston, also assigned female at birth, announced that he, too, was a man. Periodicals and radio programs across the world carried the news; both became global celebrities. A few decades later, they were all but forgotten. And in the wake of their transitions, what could have been a push toward equality became instead, through a confluence of bureaucracy, war, and sheer happenstance, the exact opposite: the now all-too-familiar panic around trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming athletes. In The Other Olympians, Michael Waters uncovers, for the first time, the gripping true stories of Koubek, Weston, and other pioneering trans and intersex athletes from their era. With dogged research and cinematic flair, Waters also tracks how International Olympic Committee members ignored Nazi Germany's atrocities in order to pull off the Berlin Games, a partnership that ultimately influenced the IOC's nearly century-long obsession with surveilling and cataloging gender. Immersive and revelatory, The Other Olympians is a groundbreaking, hidden-in-the-archives marvel, an inspiring call for equality, and an essential contribution toward understanding the contemporary culture wars over gender in sports.

Details

Discover the untold stories of the forgotten heroes who shaped the future of sports in "The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports". Unveiling the captivating journeys of pioneer athletes Zdeněk Koubek and Mark Weston, this groundbreaking book sheds light on their transformation from celebrated European women's sports stars to global icons. Through meticulous research and a touch of cinematic flair, author Michael Waters reveals how the rise of trans and intersex athletes in their era sparked a movement towards equality, only to be derailed by bureaucracy and the dark forces of war.

In this immersive and revelatory read, Waters not only uncovers the forgotten history of these courageous athletes but also exposes the shocking extents to which the International Olympic Committee turned a blind eye to Nazi Germany's atrocities in order to preserve the Berlin Games. The partnership between the IOC and a regime responsible for unspeakable horrors profoundly influenced the committee's long-standing obsession with surveillance and the controversial categorization of gender in sports.

With "The Other Olympians", you'll gain access to a hidden treasure trove of archival marvels. This book not only serves as an inspiration for equality but also provides a vital understanding of the ongoing culture wars surrounding gender in sports. Don't miss your chance to embark on this eye-opening journey into the past that holds a mirror up to the present.

Experience the power of history and join the dialogue surrounding gender equality in sports. Get your copy of "The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports" now. Click here.

See All Buying Options...

More Details...