Copyright by Meredith M. Bagley 2010
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Copyright by Meredith M. Bagley 2010 THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE FOR MEREDITH M. BAGLEY CERTIFIES THAT THIS IS THE APPROVED VERSION OF THE FOLLOWING DISSERTATION: PLAYING FAIR: THE RHETORICAL LIMITS OF LIBERALISM IN WOMEN’S SPORT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, 1927-1992 Committee: Dana L. Cloud, Supervisor Roderick P. Hart Barry Brummett Sharon E. Jarvis Ben Carrington PLAYING FAIR: THE RHETORICAL LIMITS OF LIBERALISM IN WOMEN’S SPORT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, 1927-1992 BY MEREDITH M. BAGLEY, B.A.; M.A. DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN MAY, 2010 DEDICATION To my parents, Fred and Jennifer. For the hours on ball fields and ski slopes, for the endless supply of good books and writing tips, for expecting much and accepting all. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Popular mythology portrays the doctoral degree as an isolated, singular quest for mastery. In my experience this could not be farther from the truth. I have been fortunate to receive support from so many sources during this long journey, starting always with my family, all of whom, in our own way, are teachers of some kind. As in all my achievements, I have to acknowledge the constant presence of my big brother Andrew – while he used to be the figure I literally chased on any adventure, in our more mature years he has become an invaluable source of advice and inspiration. When I make decisions based on the gut feeling I have when I imagine sharing that choice with him I am rarely led me astray. In addition to an incredible family I was lucky enough to grow up in a small town in a small state where students get to know teachers and maintain those relationships for life. David and Diane Wolk were pivotal influences in my earliest education at Barstow Memorial School and they remain close friends today nearly three decades later. You spoke to me as equals; you looked me in the eye and challenged me to be the best I could v be. Furthermore, when I slipped and stumbled, as we do in our youth, you never wavered in your support and belief in my future. I am so happy to have you in my life today. As an athlete and sport scholar I have to acknowledge the incredible teammates I have had the privilege of competing with over the years. There is truly a unique bond created among special teammates who genuinely understand each other on a level unattained by other types of relationships. For me, to recognize another person as a true “teammate” is a term of high honor. And I was lucky enough to realize this by experiencing the incredible highs and agonizing lows of team sports with a litany of inspiring teammates. The women of Harvard soccer, three college roommates included, introduced me to the concept of “team love” and I am still honored to have won league titles with them as well as with the women of Harvard softball. Coach Allard, your example as an openly gay college coach remains a powerful testament to the positive impact that occurs when people of excellence and integrity speak up for what is just and right in sport. It is in rugby, however, that I have experienced the apotheosis of team sport. I will forever hold close to my heart the women of the Seattle Breakers – Liz Kirk, Marie Hahler, Jen Sporleder, Jen Tanner, Diana Kaspic and Sue Brooks – who taught me the fundamentals of the most amazing game on earth. Rugby cemented for me what I always knew in my gut about sport: that it is much more than lines on a field; that it teaches us skills and lessons that span our role as citizens, partners, and friends. In Austin I found an equally amazing community of athletes with the Valkyries and Beavers. Alongside Meg Pace, Meredith Ottens, Rosalind Chou, Tiffany Hall, Stephanie Dorsey, Rachel Osborn, and Rachel Kraft, among so many others, I began the arduous process of pursuing this degree. Through seven years of reading and writing, seven years of rucking and tackling, vi seven years of growth, often painful, the camaraderie of these teams made me the person I am today. I could not have survived without them. When not testing mettle on the rugby pitch I benefitted from just as rigorous of challenges within the Communication Studies Department at the University of Texas. My day-to-day survival benefitted most from the incredible cohort of scholars who matriculated before me. It is no stretch to say that I learned as much about rhetoric, scholarship, and academic life from Jaime Wright, Johanna Hartelius, Amy Young, Jennifer Asensas, Kevin Johnson, and Amanda Davis as I did in any formal classroom setting. You are Texas. It was a daunting moment to assume the mantle of leadership and fill the shoes left by these predecessors. In this task I am buoyed by the inspiration and support of my peers: Adria Battaglia, the mother hen; Bryan McCann, the sweet warrior; Becky LaValley; the eternal optimist; Roger Gatchet, the soulful observer; Erik Green, the right hand man; Kristin Stimpson, the grounded fashionista; and of course the kickball wizard Whales, Kelly and Matt and Jen and Hayes. Watching over all of us has been the incredible, indispensible Communication Studies department staff of Dr. Susan Corbin, Deanna Matthews and Jennifer Betancourt: three souls who can seemingly solve any problem one-handed without breaking a sweat. Throughout my studies and during this dissertation process in particular, I have benefitted immeasurably from the guidance of Dr. Dana L. Cloud. She continues to set a standard of engaged scholarship by fighting for what is right, speaking for those who cannot, placing herself at risk for those more vulnerable. We should all aspire to this degree of commitment to our ideals. I have been fortunate to work with Dana as instructors, as scholars, and as activists and I look forward to her mentorship throughout my career. I am also grateful to my dissertation committee for their contributions to the formation and completion of this project. I am more organized thanks to Dr. Sharon E. vii Jarvis, more concise thanks to Dr. Ben Carrington, more relevant to my beloved field of rhetoric thanks to Dr. Barry Brummett and more rooted in my own voice thanks to Dean Roderick P. Hart. Finally, I have to thank the core group of people who have been there in thick and thin during the hardest parts of this process and who deserve to be part of the headiest moments of celebration. To Quita St. John whose unflagging confidence in me and utter dedication to friendship transcends time and space. To Meg Haley, a brilliant playwright who inspired me to bring both the poetic and potent to my academic writing. To SSG Machin McHargue, the true doctor, who reveled in learning new words from her “professor” friend but also kept me honest and real. Of all these wonderful people I am most grateful to Alexandrea Wells Davenport (the first), who is consistently impressive. I am so honored that you are taking these next steps with me; you make me laugh like no one ever has and you let me cry when needed. I am a better person with you by my side; you are my key. viii PLAYING FAIR: THE RHETORICAL LIMITS OF LIBERALISM IN WOMEN’S SPORT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, 1927-1992 Publication No._____________ Meredith M. Bagley, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2010 Supervisor: Dana L. Cloud This dissertation situates the emergence of women’s intercollegiate sport at the University of Texas from 1927-1992 within the inherent tensions within liberal feminism regarding difference and equality. Specifically, it examines how the rhetoric of fair play functions as a resource for both resistance and social control. The rhetoric of fair play refers to a set of debates and discussions over the structure and meaning of competitive sport. The project proposes three tensions within fair play rhetoric: Discipline or Freedom, Rules as Control or Transformation, and the Universal or Political Athlete. Drawing upon the theoretical resources of liberal, radical and materialist feminism, as well as the cultural theory of Michel Foucault and Raymond Williams, the project argues that values of fairness and meritocracy within sport function dialectically to both empower demands for social change and to extend preexisting hierarchies. A number of questions guided this project: What social norms are at stake during sport competitions? ix How does fair play rhetoric uphold or challenge these norms? On what basis does fair play rhetoric challenge status quo social conditions? On what basis does it uphold them? And finally, how do the assumptions behind various usages of fair play rhetoric enable and limit their effects on society? Three case studies demonstrate how consecutive women’s sport administrators at Texas used claims to fair play to negotiate the dialectic tension of transcendent claims to sport identity and particular attachments to gender within women’s involvement in sport. Rhetorical tactics shifted from an invocation of sport’s public welfare benefits to political activism on behalf of women’s right to compete at sport. The project sets these varied tactics of sport advocacy within broader contexts of first wave feminism, interwar period Progressivism, social transformations of World War II, Civil Rights activism, and second wave feminism of the 1970s, culminating in the passage of Title IX. The dissertation concludes that the rhetoric of fair play exists within sport, and beyond, as a powerful form of discourse that can be wielded for social control or challenge.