The University Archives is pleased to announce that "Crossing the Line," a documentary created by Hillary Streeter ’14 on homophobia and gender stereotypes in sports at Stanford, is now streaming online. The film — made possible by a grant from the Bingham Fund for Student Innovation in Human Biology — features individual interviews with a range of Stanford student-athletes across all sports and genders, discussing stereotypes about their sports, and the consequences of these preconceptions of gender and sexuality.

The documentary was shown January 29th during a panel discussion held as part of the We A.R.E. (Athletes Reaching Equality) Pride events held at Berkeley and Stanford. The idea for these events began with the goal of bringing Cal and Stanford communities together in hopes to generate awareness for LGBT inclusion in sports. By using the week in which two rivalry games are taking place, both schools showed that despite a long tradition of competition, sports is also a platform for equality. 

Organized by members of the Stanford and UC-Berkeley women’s basketball teams, Toni Kokenis ’14 and Mikayla Lyles respectively, the panel event and art show were part of a weeklong initiative that seeks to promote safe and supportive communities for LGBT athletes, as well as raise awareness of LGBT issues in sports.

Panelists at the January 29, 2014 event included Pat Griffin, founding director for Changing the Game: The Gay and Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Sports Project; Wade Davis, former NFL player and LGBT activist and educator; Helen Carroll, director of the National Center for Lesbian Right’s Sports Project and Nevin Caple, co-founder of the Br{ache the Silence Campaign.

Kokenis — one of the co-founders of Stanford Athletes and Allies Together (StAAT) — noted that organizations both within and outside of the Stanford community have been supportive and helpful in putting on the week’s programming. Sponsors include the Stanford Athletic Department, the Cal Athletic Department, You Can Play and the Weiland Health Initiative, among others.