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- Title
CRUEL OPTIMISM: ZIKA, LEX SPORTIVA, AND BODIES OF (ALLEGED) CONTAGION.
- Authors
DE LISIO, AMANDA; FUSCO, CAROLINE
- Abstract
Previous literature has noted the connection between sport and corporate environmentalism, especially that which has positioned the sport mega-event as a facilitator of "sustainable" development. David Chernushenko (1994) was the first environmentalist to propose a model of ecologically sustainable development for sport and recreation management, which was criticizedfor the notable appeal to neoliberalcapitalist advancement.* 1 Due to eco-driven protests in Denver (1974), Toronto (1989), and Rome (1997), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) amended the Olympic Charter to reflect growing environmental concern. Yet the IOC model has--much like the work of Chernushenko--continued to favor finance. Recent literature has documented the extent to which the Olympic pillar of "sustainability, " intended to "integrate sustainable development into their policies and activities, " has allowed for deceptive corporate marketing to merely greenwash the Games.2 It is from this context that the Aedes aegypti or Yellow Fever mosquito rapidly emerged--now host to Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, Mayaro, and other viruses. We borrow from Lauren Berlant the notion of "cruel optimism " to describe structural/institutional ideologies (e.g., allegiance to the monogamous, heteronormative family) that facilitate capitalist expansion, even in the midst of (environmental) crisis.3 While the literal destruction of the cityscape (whether sport-prompted or not) has cemented an economic logic into the physical landscape and modern mind, we contend that scientific-technological communities need to (more carefully) protect and privilege the pre-existent "nature-made" strategies of sustainability. So, to make an authentic commitment to the environment, the IOC--as emblematic of an international conglomerate repeatedly encouraged to rewrite and recreate sovereign law--would need to legally enforce the protection of local ecologies as it has legally enforced the protection of corporate sponsorship and the Olympic brand.
- Subjects
SPORTS &; the environment; CORPORATE environmentalism; SUSTAINABLE development; SPORTS administration; RECREATION management; ECOLOGY; CORPORATE sponsorship; INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC)
- Publication
Columbia Journal of Gender & Law, 2019, Vol 38, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1062-6220
- Publication type
Article