About this episode

Erica Rand discusses her new book and the intersections of gender, sports, and activism in figure skating.

Erica Rand has just published a new book called ‘Skating Away from the Binary’, which looks at our skating and our struggle to be allowed to compete as a gender-nonconforming pair team, and examines issues around gender binaries, sports, and politics in a very accessible way. As well as being my pairs partner and friend, Erica is a professor of Art and Visual Culture and of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Bates College. Many of her courses concern the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality—including a course called Queer and Trans Sports Studies. A longtime activist and cultural critic, Erica has written on topics ranging from Barbie to Ellis Island, and has used her experience as an adult figure skater and group-lessons coach to help her think and write about opening up sport and movement for all. Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJtaqOxw0iczfAoyGiiY94Z-fqo8yh3ZX0GvLPTzxm0/edit?tab=t.0 You can order “Skating Away from the Binary” through the University of Minnesota Press: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517920555/skating-away-from-the-binary/ Links: More about Erica: https://www.bates.edu/faculty/profile ... Erica’s first book skating book, “Red Nails, Black…

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