TY - JOUR
T1 - Wanting to be Anna
T2 - Examining Lesbian sporting celebrity on the L word
AU - Chawansky, Megan
AU - Francombe, Jessica
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - This article adds to the limited literature on coming out and on lesbians in sport by highlighting the presence of lesbian sporting celebrity on Showtime’s series The L Word. Through a reading of The L Word’s character/professional athlete, Dana Fairbanks, we explore the economic impetus and the racial and classed undertones of corporatized coming out narratives. We devote considerable effort to unpacking Fairbanks’ articulation that she wishes to be “the gay Anna Kournikova” and speculate on the consequences of this utterance for both real lesbian sporting celebrities and the lesbian fans that necessarily follow Fairbanks’ corporate-sponsored coming out.
AB - This article adds to the limited literature on coming out and on lesbians in sport by highlighting the presence of lesbian sporting celebrity on Showtime’s series The L Word. Through a reading of The L Word’s character/professional athlete, Dana Fairbanks, we explore the economic impetus and the racial and classed undertones of corporatized coming out narratives. We devote considerable effort to unpacking Fairbanks’ articulation that she wishes to be “the gay Anna Kournikova” and speculate on the consequences of this utterance for both real lesbian sporting celebrities and the lesbian fans that necessarily follow Fairbanks’ corporate-sponsored coming out.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875991082&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2012.664100
U2 - 10.1080/10894160.2012.664100
DO - 10.1080/10894160.2012.664100
M3 - Article
SN - 1089-4160
VL - 17
SP - 134
EP - 149
JO - Journal of Lesbian Studies
JF - Journal of Lesbian Studies
IS - 2
ER -