Date: Friday, August 7

Time: 2:30 PM - 4:10 PM

THEMATIC

Session 019: All the Feels: Emotions as Acts of Resistance
Room: Ambassador II

Sponsors: Social Problems Theory
Sport, Leisure, and the Body

Organizers: Michael O. Johnston, William Penn University
Joshua H. Stout, Illinois State University

Presider: Michael O. Johnston, William Penn University

Discussant: Joshua H. Stout, Illinois State University

Description: 

Emotions in sport, leisure, and bodily performance are more than entertainment. They are social forces that challenge domination, subvert authority, and reclaim joy. From locker rooms to stadiums, emotions have long resisted the corporatization and bureaucratization of play. Athletes, fans, comedians, and participants use feeling to confront racism, sexism, ableism, and political control. This session invites papers exploring emotions as lifeworld practices that resist colonization, whether through stand-up, memes, digital critique, community theater, or parody leagues that disrupt gender norms. We welcome work that examines feeling and performance as embodied resistance, a tool for solidarity, and a medium for reimagining the social, political, and economic conditions of sport and leisure.

Papers:

“A ‘Spoonful of Sugar’: Comedy, Connection, and LGBTQ+ Social Change,” Lisa M. Stulberg, New York University

“Sociological Perspectives of Sports and Politics,” Sanjay Tewari, Indian Sociological Society and Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

“Burlesque Performance and Emotional Vulnerability: Therapy, Play, Community, and Catharsis,” Nicole Bouxsein Oehmen, Shenandoah University

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