Pour lire la version FRANÇAISE cliquer [ICI]. It has been approximately a year in the making, but I have slowly moved away from hockey studies. I meant to write one last piece for Hockey in Society months ago but the truth is that I wasn’t sure what to say—where to leave off, how to conclude. I…
As part of my postdoctoral work on LGBTQ inclusion in hockey at the University of Alberta, I had the opportunity to interview six former National Hockey League (NHL) players. This is part of the same study in the context of which I wrote a post about openly gay competitive ice hockey players. My goal was…
Feature photo of Voight Demeester taken by Brent Mullins, obtained from outsports.com ____________________________________________________________________________________________ As part of my postdoctoral work on LGBTQ inclusion in hockey at the University of Alberta, I had the opportunity to interview six openly gay competitive men’s hockey players. I spent anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes speaking with each of them…
Co-authored by Cheryl MacDonald and Brett Pardy When you think hockey films, you likely don’t recall a genre that displays progressive values. In terms of social progress, at best, you may think of the Mighty Ducks and its vision of hockey as creating unity. At worst, Slap Shot, which continues to be a staple of…
Co-Authored by Cheryl MacDonald and Courtney Szto (with assistance from Brock McGillis). This fall season Ontario hockey coaches have an additional mandate: they need to talk to their players about gender identity. While the intent behind this move is seemingly progressive and an important step towards achieving gender justice, it also raises a host of questions…
The Hockey Conference is a biennial event held at various locations throughout North America. It has instrumentally advanced scholarship on ice hockey and brings together academics, community members, athletes, coaches, and fans. Hockey scholars can come from various fields; their perspective for studying the sport can be grounded in things like globalization, marketing, history, gender…
Since we are on the heels of Hockey is for Everyone (HIFE) month, I want to reflect on the last one and comment on the upcoming one. I’ll describe the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative in more detail later on. For now, if you haven’t clicked the hyperlink I just provided, know that this…
From the sports blog that brought you ‘Smokeshow of the Day’ and the ‘Saturdays are for the Boys’ clothing collection, we now have what I’ll call an informal poll: “Is the Ohio State women’s hockey goalie the hottest college athlete in America?” The sports blog in question is the (in)famous Barstool Sports, which has garnered…
We’re approximately five months out of the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone Month, which was dedicated to inclusion in ice hockey, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. As part of the effort, some NHL teams hosted a You Can Play night in partnership with the You Can Play Project, a non-profit organization that has partnered with the…
The boy code, the code of silence, ‘what happens between the boys stays between the boys’—however you refer to it, there is a not-so-unwritten rule that in boys’ and men’s hockey it is often best to keep quiet. Whether it’s players standing by quietly during dangerous hazing or team authorities keeping player misbehaviour under wraps,…
Hockey in Society / Hockey dans la société 