This article builds on previous work that conceptualizes certain bodies -particularly women and racialized minorities -as 'bodies out of place' and 'space invaders' -to put forth the notion of the sporting space invader. I argue that certain sporting bodies become sporting space invaders by transgressing sporting boundaries, real and/or imagined. Specifically, this article makes case studies of two South African runners, Caster Semenya and Oscar Pistorius, to illustrate the ways in which certain bodies become viewed as existing 'beyond' particular sporting boundaries. The notion of sporting space invaders is specific to time, place and space as focuses the modalities of race, gender, sexuality, nationality and ability as the primary sporting boundaries that render certain sporting bodies as 'out of place'. Both Semenya and Pistorius were/continue to be framed within the media as possessing characteristics that gave them an 'unfair advantage' in their respective events, thus rendering them sporting space invaders. This concept seeks to complicate existing discourse on sport and the body by seeing sporting space invaders as individuals who mark instances of the changing face of modern sport, and thus make room for broader conversations about social justice and sport.
Historically, old southern codes were used to regulate the interactions between black males and white females. We draw parallels between these codes and current sexual harassment laws to examine the perceptions of sexual behavior that crosses racial lines. Specifically, we examine how white and black female targets perceived and reacted to the behavior of males of the same and different race than their own. Our results indicate that white women perceive the behavior committed by a man of another race as more sexually harassing than when a white male commits the behavior. Conversely, black women perceive the behavior committed by black men as more sexually harassing than when a man of a different race engages in the same behavior. Further, a similar pattern emerges for reporting sexual harassment. Implications for research and the management of sexual harassment are discussed.
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