The WiSEAN Podcast: Women’s Sport & Exercise Research

WiSEAN

These are the Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network (WiSEAN) podcasts. The overall purpose of WiSEAN is to grow, strengthen and promote research on women in sport and exercise, with the ultimate goal of optimizing women’s athletic success and their participation. We, therefore, invite academics, researchers and practitioners from sport and exercise to join us for our podcast, so they can share their thoughts, activities, research and advice. linktr.ee/wisean

  1. Dr Simone Fullagar and Dr Adele Pavlidis

    Jun 1

    Dr Simone Fullagar and Dr Adele Pavlidis

    Themes: How both researchers came to feminist sport sociology and began collaboratingWomen's recovery from depression — the link between movement, embodied experience and mental healthPara-sportswomen's experiences of gendered ableism, body shaming and being unheard by coachesMedicinal cannabis in sport and questioning the "spirit of sport"The Brisbane 2032 Olympics legacy project — engaging people currently outside sportBarriers to sport participation: belonging, body image, cost, identity and feeling unwelcomeCreative research methods — poetry and songwriting workshops with marginalised communitiesHockey program for Yazidi refugees in Toowoomba as a model for sport and trauma recoveryGender-based violence in sport — prevalence, under-reporting and institutional responsibilityAddressing the gender gap in disability sport (intersectionality of disability and gender)Queer fans and the Women's World Cup — invisible communities in legacy planningStrength and conditioning coaches' understanding of gender and its gapsRecommendations: intersectional approaches, diversifying leadership, questioning sport's normsand who they serve Dr Simone Fullagar (she/they) is Professor and Chair of the Sport and Gender Equity research hub at Griffith University, Australia. She has published feminist, interdisciplinary sociological research using (post)qualitative approaches across sport, leisure and mental health fields. Simone collaborates with colleagues on a number of ARC projects that address gender equity and diverse forms of embodied movement. Her most recently book is Pavlidis, A., Fullagar, S., & O'Brien, W. (2025). Feminist futures for sport: Tracing the affective dynamics of gender equity in sport organizations, Palgrave. Simone lives on the unceded lands of the Yugambeh and Kombumerri peoples of the Gold Coast. Dr Adele Pavlidis is an Associate Professor in Sociology with the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, and previously a DECRA Fellow (2018 to 2021). She is author of three books, Sport, Gender and Power: The Rise of Roller Derby (2016, Routledge, with Simone Fullagar), Feminism and a Vital Politics of Depression and Recovery (Palgrave, with Simone Fullagar and Wendy O'Brien) and Feminist Futures in Sport: Exploring the Affective Dynamics of Change in Australian Rules Football and Roller Derby (2025, Palgrave, with Simone Fullagar and Wendy O'Brien). She has published widely on a range of sociocultural issues in sport and leisure, with a focus on gender and power relations. Theoretically her work traverses contemporary scholarship on affect, power and organizations, and she is deeply interested in social, cultural and personal transformation and the entanglements between people, organizations, and wellbeing. She is currently Director of the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Treasurer of the Australian Women's and Gender Studies Association, and Co-Chair of the Sportand Gender Equity (SAGE) research hub at Griffith University.

    1h 24m
  2. Dr Simone Fullager & Dr Adele Pavlidis: Feminist Research, Inclusion and the Future of Women's Sport

    Jun 1

    Dr Simone Fullager & Dr Adele Pavlidis: Feminist Research, Inclusion and the Future of Women's Sport

    Themes: How both researchers came to feminist sport sociology and began collaboratingWomen's recovery from depression — the link between movement, embodied experience and mental healthPara-sportswomen's experiences of gendered ableism, body shaming and being unheard by coachesMedicinal cannabis in sport and questioning the "spirit of sport"The Brisbane 2032 Olympics legacy project — engaging people currently outside sportBarriers to sport participation: belonging, body image, cost, identity and feeling unwelcomeCreative research methods — poetry and songwriting workshops with marginalised communitiesHockey program for Yazidi refugees in Toowoomba as a model for sport and trauma recoveryGender-based violence in sport — prevalence, under-reporting and institutional responsibilityAddressing the gender gap in disability sport (intersectionality of disability and gender)Queer fans and the Women's World Cup — invisible communities in legacy planningStrength and conditioning coaches' understanding of gender and its gapsRecommendations: intersectional approaches, diversifying leadership, questioning sport's normsand who they serve Dr Simone Fullagar (she/they) is Professor and Chair of the Sport and Gender Equity research hub at Griffith University, Australia. She has published feminist, interdisciplinary sociological research using (post)qualitative approaches across sport, leisure and mental health fields. Simone collaborates with colleagues on a number of ARC projects that address gender equity and diverse forms of embodied movement. Her most recently book is Pavlidis, A., Fullagar, S., & O'Brien, W. (2025). Feminist futures for sport: Tracing the affective dynamics of gender equity in sport organizations, Palgrave. Simone lives on the unceded lands of the Yugambeh and Kombumerri peoples of the Gold Coast. Dr Adele Pavlidis is an Associate Professor in Sociology with the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, and previously a DECRA Fellow (2018 to 2021). She is author of three books, Sport, Gender and Power: The Rise of Roller Derby (2016, Routledge, with Simone Fullagar), Feminism and a Vital Politics of Depression and Recovery (Palgrave, with Simone Fullagar and Wendy O'Brien) and Feminist Futures in Sport: Exploring the Affective Dynamics of Change in Australian Rules Football and Roller Derby (2025, Palgrave, with Simone Fullagar and Wendy O'Brien). She has published widely on a range of sociocultural issues in sport and leisure, with a focus on gender and power relations. Theoretically her work traverses contemporary scholarship on affect, power and organizations, and she is deeply interested in social, cultural and personal transformation and the entanglements between people, organizations, and wellbeing. She is currently Director of the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Treasurer of the Australian Women's and Gender Studies Association, and Co-Chair of the Sportand Gender Equity (SAGE) research hub at Griffith University.

    1h 24m
  3. Prof Holly Thorpe: Researching Women's Bodies, Sport and the Fight for Inclusion

    May 22

    Prof Holly Thorpe: Researching Women's Bodies, Sport and the Fight for Inclusion

    Holly Thorpe (she/her) is a Professor in the Sociology of Sport and Gender at the University of Waikato (New Zealand). She has published over 140 articles and chapters, and five books and nine co-edited books, including the Palgrave Handbook of Menstruation Studies in Sport (2026), Feminist New Materialisms, Sport and Fitness (2020), and Women in Action Sport Cultures (2016). She is co-editor of the Palgrave New Femininities in Digital, Physical and Sporting Cultures series (with Kim Toffoletti, Aarti Ratna and Jessica Francombe-Webb). Driven to do research that has real world impact and concerned for issues of equity and inclusion, Holly works with an array of national and international sports organisations to build more inclusive sporting cultures.   New Handbook of Menstruation in Sport coming out soon,  The Palgrave Handbook of Menstruation Studies in Sport | Springer Nature Link   Themes discussed in the podcast: Holly's background in action sports and how it shaped her academic pathFemale athlete health, menstruation, and REDS (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport)The biopsychosocial approach to understanding women in sportInterdisciplinary collaboration — working across sociology, physiology, endocrinologyThe new Palgrave Handbook of Menstruation Studies in Sport (2026)Cultural and ethnic diversity in female athlete health researchWorking with sports organisations (High Performance Sport NZ, Sport NZ, IOC, Snow Sports NZ)Action sports, the Olympics, and expanding opportunities for women and girlsThe IOC's controversial return to mandatory sex testingThe slow pace of change and strategies for sustaining feminist sports research

    49 min
  4. Dr Nicole M. LaVoi: Advancing Girls and Women in Sport through Research and Impact (audio)

    May 13

    Dr Nicole M. LaVoi: Advancing Girls and Women in Sport through Research and Impact (audio)

    Audio: Dr Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer of social and behavioural sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Through action-orientated, collaborative research, she translates data and answers critical questions that can make a difference in the lives of girls and women. As a leading scholar on gender, leadership and women coaches, Dr LaVoi has published 100+ book chapters, research reports and peer-reviewed articles in top-rated journals. Her Outstanding Academic Title award-winning book ⁠⁠Women in Sports Coaching⁠⁠, the annual ⁠⁠Women in College Coaching Report Card™⁠⁠ and Emmy-nominated documentary ⁠⁠GAME ON: Women Can Coach⁠⁠ help inform countless stakeholders who change the system for women sport coaches. She is the founder of ⁠⁠Coaching HER®,⁠⁠ and co-creator of ⁠⁠BodyConfident Sport⁠⁠, free tools to upskill coaches to more effectively coach girls. As a public scholar, she hosts a podcast (Tucker Center Talks), consults with a variety ofstakeholder groups, works with industry partners, speaks around the world, fields media requests, provides thought leadership and serves on mission-driven advisory boards. She is a two-time NCAA Academic All-American and three-timeHall of Fame inductee. LaVoi is an award-winning athlete, coach, scholar and distinguished teacher, who won a regional Emmy for ⁠⁠Best Sport Documentary⁠⁠, and was named a 2023 USTA Champion of Equality her longstanding work in gender and sport. LaVoi played collegiate tennis at Gustavus Adolphus College winning a NCAA-III National Team Championship where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Prior to her career in higher education, she was a USPTA Teaching Pro and head tennis coach at Wellesley College. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, biking, hiking, golf, painting and soaking up the sun. Topics Tucker Center work: Description of the key messages, goals, activities. How people outside of the University can become involved. Competition with other research centres. Main activities within the center, e.g., coaching HER, Women in College Coaching Report Card. Whichmost proud of/which has had the greatest impactResearch: Research items and high citations – explanations. How the book, Women in Sports Coaching came about.Future directions, especially anything to change/left unturned, excited about.Insight into the content of the Spotlight Speaker session at the WiSEAN conference 2026.

    26 min
  5. Dr Nicole M. LaVoi: Advancing Girls and Women in Sport through Research and Impact

    May 12

    Dr Nicole M. LaVoi: Advancing Girls and Women in Sport through Research and Impact

    Dr Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer of social and behavioural sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and the Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. Through action-orientated, collaborative research, she translates data and answers critical questions that can make a difference in the lives of girls and women. As a leading scholar on gender, leadership and women coaches, Dr LaVoi has published 100+ book chapters, research reports and peer-reviewed articles in top-rated journals. Her Outstanding Academic Title award-winning book ⁠Women in Sports Coaching⁠, the annual ⁠Women in College Coaching Report Card™⁠ and Emmy-nominated documentary ⁠GAME ON: Women Can Coach⁠ help inform countless stakeholders who change the system for women sport coaches. She is the founder of ⁠Coaching HER®,⁠ and co-creator of ⁠BodyConfident Sport⁠, free tools to upskill coaches to more effectively coach girls. As a public scholar, she hosts a podcast (Tucker Center Talks), consults with a variety ofstakeholder groups, works with industry partners, speaks around the world, fields media requests, provides thought leadership and serves on mission-driven advisory boards. She is a two-time NCAA Academic All-American and three-timeHall of Fame inductee. LaVoi is an award-winning athlete, coach, scholar and distinguished teacher, who won a regional Emmy for ⁠Best Sport Documentary⁠, and was named a 2023 USTA Champion of Equality her longstanding work in gender and sport. LaVoi played collegiate tennis at Gustavus Adolphus College winning a NCAA-III National Team Championship where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Prior to her career in higher education, she was a USPTA Teaching Pro and head tennis coach at Wellesley College. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, biking, hiking, golf, painting and soaking up the sun. Topics Tucker Center work: Description of the key messages, goals, activities. How people outside of the University can become involved. Competition with other research centres. Main activities within the center, e.g., coaching HER, Women in College Coaching Report Card. Whichmost proud of/which has had the greatest impactResearch: Research items and high citations – explanations. How the book, Women in Sports Coaching came about.Future directions, especially anything to change/left unturned, excited about.Insight into the content of the Spotlight Speaker session at the WiSEAN conference 2026.

    26 min

About

These are the Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network (WiSEAN) podcasts. The overall purpose of WiSEAN is to grow, strengthen and promote research on women in sport and exercise, with the ultimate goal of optimizing women’s athletic success and their participation. We, therefore, invite academics, researchers and practitioners from sport and exercise to join us for our podcast, so they can share their thoughts, activities, research and advice. linktr.ee/wisean