Negotiating Athlete Commercialization and National Symbolism in the Digital Rhetorical Arena: A Case Study of Eileen Gu’s Weibo Comments
(2026) SKOM12 20261Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract (Swedish)
- The commercialization of athletes has been an important aspect of the sports industry and personal branding in the contemporary landscape of digital media and sports communication. However, the commercialization of the athletes will be interpreted under the framework of national symbolism when the athletes are constructed as national symbols at the same time.
Starting by researching the case of Eileen Gu, this article concentrates on her commercial posts on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and the comment area, in an attempt to understand how Eileen Gu’s public image is being negotiated and reconstructed. The primary theoretical framework employed in this study is Rhetorical Arena Theory (RAT). This research systematically examines... (More) - The commercialization of athletes has been an important aspect of the sports industry and personal branding in the contemporary landscape of digital media and sports communication. However, the commercialization of the athletes will be interpreted under the framework of national symbolism when the athletes are constructed as national symbols at the same time.
Starting by researching the case of Eileen Gu, this article concentrates on her commercial posts on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and the comment area, in an attempt to understand how Eileen Gu’s public image is being negotiated and reconstructed. The primary theoretical framework employed in this study is Rhetorical Arena Theory (RAT). This research systematically examines the reinterpretation of commercialization as matters of identity and legitimacy from the perspectives of fandom culture, national symbolism, and platform algorithms.
This article takes an interpretative approach and qualitative analysis as the research method, selects the top 7 commented-on commercial posts of Eileen Gu on Weibo in 2022 as the research materials, and combines her posts from 2026 for comparison.
The research finds that through thematic analysis, fans are not passive receivers; they are participating in the reconstruction of Eileen Gu’s public image by emphasizing her sports achievements, appearance, and contribution to China and giving emotional support. Her commercialization is considered a reward for her achievements and contributions, and critics are mainly concerned about her motivation and over-commercialization. The platform’s algorithms of Weibo also prioritize comments to display more supportive ones, which affects visibility and further strengthens the advantages of certain interpretations.
This study also discovers that the commercialization debates surrounding athletes such as Eileen Gu are not about the commercial behaviors themselves but about how they are identified and positioned in a digital rhetorical arena where competing voices fight over the right to define meaning and interpretation.
The aim of this research is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the importance of sports commercialization, national symbolism, fandom culture, and platform algorithms in strategic communication. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9244048
- author
- Chen, Yasong LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKOM12 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Eileen Gu, athletes commercialization, national symbolism, rhetorical arena theory, platform algorithms
- language
- English
- id
- 9244048
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-30 15:42:11
- date last changed
- 2026-06-30 15:42:11
@misc{9244048,
abstract = {{The commercialization of athletes has been an important aspect of the sports industry and personal branding in the contemporary landscape of digital media and sports communication. However, the commercialization of the athletes will be interpreted under the framework of national symbolism when the athletes are constructed as national symbols at the same time.
Starting by researching the case of Eileen Gu, this article concentrates on her commercial posts on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and the comment area, in an attempt to understand how Eileen Gu’s public image is being negotiated and reconstructed. The primary theoretical framework employed in this study is Rhetorical Arena Theory (RAT). This research systematically examines the reinterpretation of commercialization as matters of identity and legitimacy from the perspectives of fandom culture, national symbolism, and platform algorithms.
This article takes an interpretative approach and qualitative analysis as the research method, selects the top 7 commented-on commercial posts of Eileen Gu on Weibo in 2022 as the research materials, and combines her posts from 2026 for comparison.
The research finds that through thematic analysis, fans are not passive receivers; they are participating in the reconstruction of Eileen Gu’s public image by emphasizing her sports achievements, appearance, and contribution to China and giving emotional support. Her commercialization is considered a reward for her achievements and contributions, and critics are mainly concerned about her motivation and over-commercialization. The platform’s algorithms of Weibo also prioritize comments to display more supportive ones, which affects visibility and further strengthens the advantages of certain interpretations.
This study also discovers that the commercialization debates surrounding athletes such as Eileen Gu are not about the commercial behaviors themselves but about how they are identified and positioned in a digital rhetorical arena where competing voices fight over the right to define meaning and interpretation.
The aim of this research is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the importance of sports commercialization, national symbolism, fandom culture, and platform algorithms in strategic communication.}},
author = {{Chen, Yasong}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Negotiating Athlete Commercialization and National Symbolism in the Digital Rhetorical Arena: A Case Study of Eileen Gu’s Weibo Comments}},
year = {{2026}},
}