A Social Media Analysis of the Gendered Representations of Female and Male Athletes During the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Contemporary sport culture is characterized as highly masculinized, where female athletes are continually marginalized in traditional media. Despite evidence suggesting that media representation of athletes has a meaningful impact on social outcomes and participation rates of women and girls, little...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of sport communication 2020-12, Vol.13 (4), p.670-695
Main Authors: Yang, Elaine Chiao Ling, Hayes, Michelle, Chen, Jinyan, Riot, Caroline, Khoo-Lattimore, Catheryn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Athletes
Social networks
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Contemporary sport culture is characterized as highly masculinized, where female athletes are continually marginalized in traditional media. Despite evidence suggesting that media representation of athletes has a meaningful impact on social outcomes and participation rates of women and girls, little is known about gendered representations of athletes on social media and in the context of mega-sporting events. This paper examines the gendered representations of athletes on Twitter during the 2018 Commonwealth Games using framing theory. A total of 133,338 tweets were analyzed using sentiment and word-frequency analyses. Results indicate gender differences concerning athlete representation on Twitter, albeit marginal. In particular, the findings reveal that seemingly neutral words (e.g., “dedicated,” “talented,” and “hard working”) could carry gendered connotations. Recommendations are provided to guide stakeholders to advance a more inclusive sport culture through the strategic use of social media during mega-sporting events.
ISSN:1936-3915
1936-3907
DOI:10.1123/ijsc.2020-0045