Hi there, sports fans. My name is Jonanna Widner, and for the next couple months I’m going to be doing the guest-blogging about the nexus of sports and feminism. Said guest blog will fall under the name "Jock Bitch."

To start, I thought I’d just sort of spell out my relationship to/with sports, which hopefully will explain why I think sports are a feminist subject, and serve as an introduction to the philosophy behind this Jock Bitch.

First off, I am a huge sports fan. I do not qualify as a sports nut, mind you, as that would entail endless hours of trolling web sites for obscure statistics about how many strikes C.C. Sabathia throws per inning when pitching at dusk when the wind is coming from the south, but let’s just say ESPN is often the first TV station I turn to when the TV comes on. Let’s also say I’ve been known to Tivo basketball games to save for later, and that I cry regularly due to some sports-related catharsis or other. Last minute heroics are always good: Show me a walk-off home run and say good-bye to the Kleenex. And that’s only during the regular season.....

"Sexism subjects women to many tyrannies, but intersectionality ensures that all women are not subjected to the same ones. That America recognizes Michelle Obama as the black mother of black children, that she is comfortable and able to make the personal decision to choose motherhood for a time, I think, is a good thing. It represents a step outside of the stereotype trifecta of Mammy, Sapphire and Jezebel that is the black woman’s burden."--Tami Winfrey Harris, editor, AntiRacistParent

1935 was an interesting year, to say the least. Capitalism, the industrialization of the labor market, and, most importantly, the Great Depression, had combined to create a perfect storm that left American workers and their families facing unprecedented hardships with little help from the government to overcome them. President Roosevelt faced the gargantuan task of coming up with solutions to these problems, and to help him he appointed the first-ever female cabinet member, Secretary of Labor and mother of the American welfare state Frances Perkins.  Thanks to her, that year also got to see the passage of the Social Security Act.