Meet the Conference Team!

Amy Pressland

My name is Amy Pressland. I am one of the Sport, Gender and Media conference (10^th March 2012) organisers. I am currently in the final year of my PhD at the Centre for Women’s Studies (CWS) at the University of York. My research focuses on the representation of sports/women in British contemporary middle-brow print media. My personal interest in the media coverage and representation of sportswomen stems from feeling frustrated at the lack of reporting by national newspapers on female elite athletes. I am an athlete myself; I compete in long-distance swimming races and triathlons. I have always been an active person and was part of most of the team sports at school. I believe sport is a fantastic activity through which participants can learn more about themselves, how to treat others, and improve their health and wellbeing.

I came up with the idea for the Sport, Gender and Media conference, partly influenced by my own research, and partly with an aim to provide a platform to widen participants’ knowledge of the key irsues within the study of sport, gender and media and inspire further investigations. My fantastic co-organiser, Geneva Murray, also studies gender and sport at CWS and is passionate about creating a ‘space’ where scholars and students alike can discuss and share ideas around this topic. We feel that opening up a dialogue on sport, gender and media is particularly relevant because of the proximity to the London Olympic Games in 2012.

M. Geneva Murray

I am thrilled that the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of York is hosting a Sport, Gender and Media conference, and that I get to be involved in the co-organization of it. I am nearing completion of my PhD at York and I am still as much in love with my topic today as I was when I chose it. Utilizing theories on the institution of heterosexuality, I conducted a qualitative study on all-female roller derby which evaluated the way in which derby aligns with or challenges heteronormativity. I formerly played roller derby with the Leeds Roller Dolls as Toxic Pink Stuff, and currently help train York’s new roller derby team.

I think Amy Pressland said it all in explaining why this Conference is important! I hope to meet all of our readers on 10 March 2012! In the meantime, enjoy the blog.

Natalie Stokes

I’m excited to be part of the conference because sport plays a major role in my life.  I think sport has the potential to empower and challenge people to achieve and experience life in ways they never thought possible!  En route to practicing medicine, I am obtaining an MA degree in Gender, Violence and Conflict at the University of York as a Fulbright Scholar from the US.  I enjoy nothing more than a good sweat before the sun rises!  I love challenging myself through powerlifting, rock climbing, and mountain biking – among other things. 

Abigail Tazzyman

I am a first year PhD student in the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of York. My research focuses upon female cultures of body management; that is the methods utilised by women to alter their physical appearance. This will entail consideration of woman’s negotiation of their physical body and personal body image with their enactment of alteration and the physical body image they aim to achieve through this. I have had personally an on-going relationship with sport from a young age, once an avid swimmer I now climb, hike and mountain bike. This conference is important to me on several levels; my own personal relationship to sport, my interests in female body image and the presentation of the female body, combined with sport still being (at both amateur and a professional level) a deeply gender divided arena. The conference thus represents for me a forum where issues which I hold as important can be discussed, debated and challenged.

Nicole Zarafonetis

I am currently in my first year of her PhD at the University of York at the Centre for Women’s Studies. Originally from the US, I enjoy a variety of sport, particularly swimming and softball. When I'm not advocating for gender justice, I like to spend my spare time working out at the gym.

Evangeline Tsao

I am currently in my first year of a PhD in the Centre for Women's Studies. I am passionate in photography and I am glad to have an opportunity to capture the wonderful moments of this conference. I am not good at sports myself, but I do enjoy swimming and biking for leisure. Occasionally I try new things, and I finally did my first rock-climbing this April at Sheffield - with some screaming and swearing in the process, and feeling absolutely great afterwards. I personally hope that this conference can give me more confidence in doing sports and hopefully I will start to like running, or have a chance to challenge myself with other sports that I have never done before. I suppose carrying a huge camera and running around can be considered as some kind of ... exercise.



Amy and Geneva are delighted with the support they’ve gotten from the Centre for Women’s Studies and their fellow students. This is not an exhaustive list of the support team, and more names may be added, but you will be hearing from all of the above on the blog and in various online campaigns.