Coverage of women’s sport and female sports journalists

This qualitative exploratory case study redresses the deficit of sports media research in France by undertaking a study of those responsible for the production of sports media content. The central question was, What role do sports media producers play in perpetuating dominant ideologies in sport? Participants were experienced male and female sports content decision makers from major French national television and print media. Data were collected through 9 individual semistructured interviews. The findings highlight how sports are selected for coverage, why women’s sport receives less coverage, and who is responsible. There is an indication that women’s sport is subject to much harsher editorial selection criteria than men’s. The similarities and differences between France and other countries are also discussed. Conclusions were drawn on what role the makers of sports media content have in reproducing this hegemonic masculinity so inherent in sports coverage.

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Guardians of the Hegemonic Structure of Sports? Women’s Sports as Perceived by Polish Female Sports Journalists

Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej ◽

10.18778/1733-8069.16.1.04 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 48-64

Author(s):

Natalia Organista ◽

Zuzanna Mazur

Keyword(s):

Media Coverage ◽

Professional Socialization ◽

Minority Status ◽

Women's Sports ◽

Women's Sport ◽

Amount Of Information ◽

Research Participants ◽

Women’S Sports ◽

Female Journalists ◽

Female Sports

The under-representation of media coverage of women’s sports has been a long-standing phenomenon, which can also be observed in Poland (Dziubiński, Organista and Mazur 2019; Jakubowska 2015; Kluczyńska 2011). One of the possible reasons for less information on women’s sports is a small number of female sports journalists. Due to the lack of Polish research on female sports journalists, the authors of this article aimed at analyzing their beliefs about women’s sports and the under-representation of media coverage of women’s sports in the Polish media. The analysis has shown that the female journalists perceive women’s sports as inferior to men’s sports and are not in favor of increasing the amount of information about women’s sports. The authors point to the socialization into sport, the professional socialization of the research participants, their minority status in the profession as well as their perception of masculinity, femininity, and professionalism in journalism as possible reasons for the way in which women’s sport is perceived by them.

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Perceptions of the Socioeconomic Impacts of a Women’s Major Sporting Event in Africa

Tourism Review International ◽

10.3727/154427221x16245632411908 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Frinwei N. Achu ◽

Refiloe Julia Lekgau ◽

Urmila Bob

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Research Approach ◽

Women's Sport ◽

Socioeconomic Impacts ◽

Sports Events ◽

Development Tool ◽

Female Sports ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Study Sites

Major sports events have emerged as an important destination development tool for many developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to assess the socioeconomic impacts of the 2016 Women African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) hosted in Cameroon. Taking the hosting cities (Limbe and Yaounde) as the case study sites, the study utilized a mixed-methods research approach. The data emerged from the 759 questionnaires distributed to the event attendees and 10 interviews with key informants. The study showed the event to have created employment and income generation opportunities in the host cities and have contributed to increased national pride and social cohesion. Also, the study found the event to have played an important role in the advancement of women in sport. However, the research revealed little leveraging of the event’s socioeconomic opportunities for longer gain. The study concludes that female sports events, for destination development and the advancement of women’s sport, is an important but neglected area of focus. The study argues for stronger collaborations and partnerships within tourism and sport stakeholders to ensure the positive advancements of female sports events are sustained.

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Ondina e le ondine Questioni di raffigurazione (verbale e iconografica) della donna sportiva nell’Italia fascista (1933 ca.)

Italianistica Debreceniensis ◽

10.34102/italdeb/2018/4667 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 140-160

Author(s):

Marco Giani

Keyword(s):

Gold Medal ◽

Women's Sport ◽

The Public ◽

New Women ◽

The Road ◽

Sport Policy ◽

Historical Images ◽

Female Sports ◽

Collective Imagination ◽

On The Road

In late 1933, L'Osservatore Romano fuelled an argument against Il Littoriale, mouthpiece of the Fascist sport policy, about women’s sport: the Vatican Italian-speaking newspaper was against the public women’s athletic meetings, and the “immoral” shorts dressed by the young Italian athletes, such as Ondina Valla, going-to-be the first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal (1936, Berlin). Which was the situation of Italian female sports, at that time? Which was the influence of new women models coming from US? What was considered “immoral” by conservative people in 1933 Italy watching a women’s athletic or swimming meeting? How Hollywood stars could help Ondina and her mates on the road of female emancipation? These are the questions this essay is going to answer, helped by a lot of historical images, useful to reconstruct a whole collective imagination.

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Female Olympians’ voices: Female sports categories and International Olympic Committee Transgender guidelines

International Review for the Sociology of Sport ◽

10.1177/10126902211021559 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101269022110215

Author(s):

Cathy Devine

Keyword(s):

Female Athletes ◽

Scientific Evidence ◽

Policy Formulation ◽

International Olympic Committee ◽

Political Discourses ◽

Fair Competition ◽

Fair Inclusion ◽

Female Sports ◽

And Performance ◽

Unanimous Agreement

The fair inclusion of female athletes at elite and Olympic levels is secured in most sports by way of female categories because of the extensively documented biological and performance-related differences between the sexes. International policy for transgender inclusion is framed by the definitive International Olympic Committee transgender guidelines in which the International Olympic Committee confirms the ‘overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition’ and transwomen can be excluded from female categories if, in the interests of fairness, this is necessary and proportionate. Feminist theorists argue justice requires that women have equal moral standing in the sociocultural–political structures of society including sport. As such their voices should carry equal democratic weight. However, female elite and Olympic athletes are rarely heard in the sociocultural–political discourses of academic literature or policy formulation for transgender inclusion in female categories by the International Olympic Committee and governing bodies of sport. This empirical study investigated the views and presents the ‘voices’ of 19 female Olympians. The main findings include (1) these athletes thought both female and transgender athletes should be fairly included in elite sport, (2) unanimous agreement there is not enough scientific evidence to show no competitive advantage for transwomen, (3) unanimous agreement that the International Olympic Committee should revisit the rules and scientific evidence for transgender inclusion in female categories, and (4) the majority of athletes felt that they could not ask questions or discuss this issue without being accused of transphobia.

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Entrepreneurship, Sport, Sustainability and Integration: A Business Model in the Low-Season Tourism Sector

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10040117 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 117

Author(s):

Ricardo Reier Forradellas ◽

Sergio Náñez Alonso ◽

Javier Jorge Vázquez ◽

Miguel Ángel Echarte Fernández ◽

Nicolas Vidal Miró

Keyword(s):

Business Model ◽

Business Models ◽

Generation Model ◽

Sustainable Business ◽

Women's Sport ◽

Participation Of Women ◽

Tourism Sector ◽

New Business ◽

Global Tourism ◽

Wealth Generation

The global tourism reality is changing, and not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This reality is especially representative in countries such as Spain, which are highly dependent on the income generated by the tourism sector. In these destinations, it is necessary to seek innovation and specialization in the sector in order to achieve new business models. This need is even more pressing in destinations overcrowded by the sun and beach effect, as is the case of Mallorca. The proposed work combines the concepts of sports tourism with the development of a wealth-generating business model that will contribute to promoting a tourism that is sustainable, environmentally friendly and deseasonalized. On the other hand, the proposed work will contribute to promoting integration and equality in the participation of women in sports through the development of a model based on the promotion of women’s football. Using the methodology of case analysis, the results of all the approaches outlined are provided, and we obtained a wealth-generation model that is easily replicable and sustainable over time. This work provides a solution to the combination of a sustainable business model that links responsible tourism, the promotion of women’s sport and the generation of wealth.

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