The Gay Games: The Play of Sexuality, Sport - Victoria University ...

Summary of Ttiesis Ciiapters
To appreciate and situate the systems of values, interests, and established meanings
from which individuals, communities and identities had been constituted in this
research project, the use of social history and social theory was also employed. The
mam historical and theoretical bodies of knowledge providing this foimdation were
derived from gender studies, feminist theory, queer theory, and play and leisure
theory. Rather than there being an exhaustive literature review at the very beginning
of this thesis, each chapter essentially contains an interwoven review of historical and
theoretical research and scholarly understanding of the main themes to be addressed.
The thesis is organised thematically and chronologically. It starts with
the broader historical context of Westem gender/sexuality systems and their
relationship to sport. This is achieved in Chapter Two, opened up through the life,
struggles and achievements (the dance) of Tom Waddell, the principal visionary and
founder of the Gay Games. Chapter Two is entitled "Dancing with Tom Waddell".
Waddell wanted to be a dancer but excelled £is an athlete in the most masculine of
sports. The ambiguous dance of being gay and masculine in 1950s America was made
easier through sport. It was accentuated through dancing and dance, along with the
official cultural program, were not significant within the Gay Games until 1990. The
historical significance of sport to hegemonic masculinity and heterosexuality is
explored in this chapter. This is the context for understanding the sfrongly gendered
sports world, the role of sport in the gendering of Westem society and the treatment of
lesbian and gay sportspeople up until the present day. As the main visionary and
founder of the Gay Games Waddell's dance is significant for the foundation of the
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