Raygun: Feminist Breakdancer Who Lost Olympics

Rachael Gunn is an expert Olympian. Known as “Raygun,” her stage name, the Australian breakdancer has a Ph.D. in cultural studies from Macquarie University, where she is now a lecturer. Her academic focus is on breaking, hip-hop, “constructions of the dancing body,” “the politics of gender and gender performance,” and the “methodological dynamics between theory and practice.”

Raygun became an overnight spectacle after displaying unique moves in Paris, all of which were “original,” she told ESPN. A self-professed underdog, Gunn knew she would never “beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves.” Her goal was “to move differently, be artistic and creative.” Creativity, she added, is her strength. Raygun’s experience also helps, though only in theory — she received a zero for her performance at this year’s Olympics.

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Haley Strack

Haley Strack is a former staff writer at National Review.

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Rachael Gunn is an expert Olympian. Known as “Raygun,” her stage name, the Australian breakdancer has a Ph.D. in cultural studies from Macquarie University, where she is now a lecturer. Her academic focus is on breaking, hip-hop, “constructions of the dancing body,” “the politics of gender and gender performance,” and the “methodological dynamics between theory and practice.”

Raygun became an overnight spectacle after displaying unique moves in Paris, all of which were “original,” she told ESPN. A self-professed underdog, Gunn knew she would never “beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves.” Her goal was “to move differently, be artistic and creative.” Creativity, she added, is her strength. Raygun’s experience also helps, though only in theory — she received a zero for her performance at this year’s Olympics.