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Beauty and the Bar - The Reinforcement of Hegemonic Masculinity in Contemporary British and German Sports Journalism and Its Relationship to Sex- Segregated Competition Structures

Monsees, Leah LU (2019) SIMV18 20191
Graduate School
Master of Science in Social Studies of Gender
Abstract
Sport is a crucial arena in which hegemonic masculinity is constructed and
reinforced. The creation of gendered hierarchies is a powerful tool contributing to
the persistence of male dominance, subordinating those not conforming to the
specific expectations of what counts as ‘masculine’.
Conducting an analysis of 24 German and British online articles reporting on
weightlifting during the 2012 London Olympics, this paper argues that (1)
contemporary British and German sports journalism on weightlifting contributes to
the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity, and (2) the cycle of reinforcement
cannot be broken until alternative forms to sex-segregated, binary competitions
structures become more natural to mega-events like the... (More)
Sport is a crucial arena in which hegemonic masculinity is constructed and
reinforced. The creation of gendered hierarchies is a powerful tool contributing to
the persistence of male dominance, subordinating those not conforming to the
specific expectations of what counts as ‘masculine’.
Conducting an analysis of 24 German and British online articles reporting on
weightlifting during the 2012 London Olympics, this paper argues that (1)
contemporary British and German sports journalism on weightlifting contributes to
the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity, and (2) the cycle of reinforcement
cannot be broken until alternative forms to sex-segregated, binary competitions
structures become more natural to mega-events like the Olympics.
While the theoretical framework of this study consists of frequently used concepts
within feminist research such as hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality, it
offers a new and less common approach to discourse analysis within the field of
sport sociology. By combining a discourse analytical approach as suggested by
Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe with tools for visual analysis from various
scholars, this study also contributes to the rather unexplored field of research
surrounding the sport of Olympic-style weightlifting. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Monsees, Leah LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMV18 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
sport, media, hegemonic masculinity, poststructuralism, discourse analysis
language
English
id
8979411
date added to LUP
2019-08-23 13:54:10
date last changed
2019-08-23 13:54:10
@misc{8979411,
  abstract     = {{Sport is a crucial arena in which hegemonic masculinity is constructed and
reinforced. The creation of gendered hierarchies is a powerful tool contributing to
the persistence of male dominance, subordinating those not conforming to the
specific expectations of what counts as ‘masculine’.
Conducting an analysis of 24 German and British online articles reporting on
weightlifting during the 2012 London Olympics, this paper argues that (1)
contemporary British and German sports journalism on weightlifting contributes to
the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity, and (2) the cycle of reinforcement
cannot be broken until alternative forms to sex-segregated, binary competitions
structures become more natural to mega-events like the Olympics.
While the theoretical framework of this study consists of frequently used concepts
within feminist research such as hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality, it
offers a new and less common approach to discourse analysis within the field of
sport sociology. By combining a discourse analytical approach as suggested by
Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe with tools for visual analysis from various
scholars, this study also contributes to the rather unexplored field of research
surrounding the sport of Olympic-style weightlifting.}},
  author       = {{Monsees, Leah}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Beauty and the Bar - The Reinforcement of Hegemonic Masculinity in Contemporary British and German Sports Journalism and Its Relationship to Sex- Segregated Competition Structures}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}