ABSTRACT
Sexism is an ongoing problem within the Olympic Games, and in broader society. Historians are well placed to analyze social change over time and have a role to play in transforming gendered meanings that contribute to cultural sexism. However, to have real political effects, historians need to pay greater attention to the contradictory, discontinuous, and complex aspects of gender history, and contextualize women’s experiences within the whole field of gender relations. In this paper, a critical historical approach inspired by Michel Foucault and Joan W. Scott is proposed as a means to achieve this goal. The case of road cycling is used as an example to illustrate how Olympic historians might approach a topic from this critical perspective.
