International Competition, Neutrality and "Lightweight Gymnasts from Eastern Europe": Gender and Sport Politics in Swiss Women's Artistic Gymnastics during the Cold War

Abstract

During the Cold War Women's Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) transformed into a battlefield between East and West and with that female gymnasts became the center of attention. Besides Switzerland's legacy of neutrality and not being officially involved in the Cold War, the Cold War didn't stop at Switzerland's boarders. This presentation puts the gender and sport politics at the center and asks how the Swiss gymnastics movement positioned themselves in this global battle of hegemony in WAG and how that influenced not only gender but also the bodies of gymnasts for many years.

This presentation was part of the panel: Régimes de genre à l'Oest en temps de Guerre froide