Sun Oct 18 – [Online] No More Rainbows: Sochi 2014 Olympics and Homophobia in Putin’s Russia

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm but you can join in to the meeting starting at 10:45 am. Volunteers please join by 10:30 am.

In 2007, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected Sochi to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. LGBTQ communities in Russia had long been under threat, culminating in 2013 legislation that criminalized same-sex activities. The IOC and Putin’s Russia continue to exercise their power in similar ways: undemocratic governance, fraudulent voting processes, hypocrisy and absence of accountability.

Our featured speaker on this topic this Sunday, will be Helen Lenskyj, author of the 2014 book: Sexual Diversity and the Sochi 2014 Olympics: No More Rainbows (https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137399755).

Helen Jefferson Lenskyj is Professor Emerita, University of Toronto, where she taught sociology. Her work as a researcher and activist on gender and sport issues began in the 1980s, and her critique of the Olympic industry include: Inside the Olympic Industry; Olympic Industry Resistance; Gender, Athletes Rights, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport; and released earlier this year, her most recent book The Olympic Games: A Critical Approach.

Helen grew up in Australia and has lived in Toronto since 1966. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in 1983, and was a professor from 1986 until retiring in 2007. As well as writing books, she enjoys swimming and kayaking. Her website is www.helenlenskyj.ca; TWITTER: https://twitter.com/helenje63185798

Please RSVP on meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/ptkqxrybcnbxb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting was recorded at the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hhMz7qP2bymGpaWfvTp2DPLh3AQnOnf4/view?usp=sharing