Mark Perzel
12 July 2024
45m 8s
Maria Kaj: Women and the Olympic Dream
00:00
45:08
Best Part of the Book
SUMMARY
This podcast episode features an interview with Maria Kaj, the author of "Women and the Olympic Dream: The Continuing Struggle for Equality, 1896–2021." Maria talks about the long and ongoing fight for gender equality in the Olympics, celebrating the progress made while acknowledging the barriers that still exist.
LISTENER DISCOUNT CODE: BESTPART
Receive a 25% discount on Maria's book on McFarland's website by using the coupon code BESTPART: mcfarlandbooks.com/product/women-and-the-olympic-dream
BOOK & DESCRIPTION
“Women and the Olympic Dream: The Continuing Struggle for Equality, 1896–2021." McFarland, softcover (2022) mcfarlandbooks.com/product/women-and-the-olympic-dream
On an April morning in 1896, unemployed single mother Stamata Revithi ran the 40 kilometers from Marathon to Athens, finishing in 5 hours 30 minutes. Barred from the first Olympic marathon, she was determined to prove herself. Through more than a century of Olympic Games history, women athletes—who were held back from swimming because long skirts were required, limited to running single-lap races because of fallacies about fragility, or forced to endure invasive gender exams—competed in spite of endless challenges. From Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020, this history of women’s participation in the Olympic Games centers on athletes who overcame entrenched inequity to gain inclusion.
ABOUT MARIA
Maria Kaj is a writer, independent scholar, and instructor who regularly posts on her blog kajmeister.com. A former banker, she now coaches students on history, business, and economics through multiple university partnerships, as well as volunteering as a tax preparer for low-income residents of Alameda County. She also just received her Masters in history, with a thesis that focused on cultural interpretations of medieval accounting practices. Everything has a story!
- Website: kajmeister.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/kajmeister
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/maria-kaj-43620011
Maria has published two other books:
"Outside the Rio Spotlight: American Triumphs You Didn't See at the 2016 Olympics" (self-published, 2018): www.amazon.com/Outside-Rio-Spotlight-American-Triumphs/dp/1985262762/
"The A to Z Olympics: 26 Torch-Worthy Tales & Tidbits" (self-published, 2021): www.amazon.com/Olympics-26-Torch-Worthy-Tales-Tidbits/dp/B092CKZB6V
ABOUT MCFARLAND
McFarland, a leading independent publisher of academic and general-interest nonfiction books, is perhaps best known for the serious treatment of popular culture. Founded in 1979, we are recognized among authors and readers as adventurous in range and a reliable source of worthy books that other publishers overlook. We have about 7500 unique works for sale and each year we publish about 350 new titles. Meeting high library standards has been a major focus since the company began, and many McFarland books have received awards from the academic-oriented (e.g., Choice Outstanding Academic Title, ALA Outstanding Reference Work) to the mainstream (Hugo, Edgar, Stoker, and Eisner, among others). www.McFarlandBooks.com