Contest is a riotous excursion through the contemporary sportscape. Gary Genosko uncovers the cultural and political qualities of the world of sports from its gaudiest moments — the professional spectacle of Super Sunday and Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition — to its obscure nooks and crannies, like figure-skating psychoanalyst Ernest Jones.
The exploration ranges from hockey (“Disciplining Road Hockey,” “Athletes as Pets”) to sports’ relationship with design (“Furniture and Sport”); from bodybuilding (“A Portrait of Jesus as a Young Schwarzenegger”) to bike messengers; from gymnastics (“Olympian Cuteness”) to memorabilia.
Genosko’s exhilarating approach employs an idiosyncratic mix of cultural studies, contemporary theory, and a lifetime of collecting sports cards as he celebrates the heroic amateurs and the radical losers who are the real stars of Contest.
Worthwhile reading for anyone interested in cultural studies and sport, especially as it relates to Canada.”
— Zoe Druick
| Subject | Sports & Recreation/Sociology of Sports |
|---|---|
| Published | April 1999 |
| Price | $14.95 CDN |
| Pages | 128 pp (Paper) |
| Dimensions | 7″ × 7″ × 0.25″ |
| ISBN-10 | 1894037065 |
| ISBN-13 | 9781894037068 |











