(Anti-)feminism and cisgenderism in sports media

Bibliographic Data

ID12690643
AuthorsGabriel Knott-Fayle (0000-0002-8587-545X, Loughborough University, corresponding author), E Peel (0000-0002-0017-1024, Loughborough University), Gemma L Witcomb (0000-0003-4668-2441, Loughborough University)
Year2021
Volume23
Issue3
Pages1274-1291
Publication date2021-11-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Media Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-0777 • E-ISSN: 1471-5902
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14680777.2021.1992644
OpenAlexW3213184368
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited37

In this article we explore how anti-feminist and cisgenderist media logics are intertwined, particularly in the context of sports media. We examine these issues through focused analysis of a recent case reported in 2018–2019 predominantly in the British media. The sequential unfolding of media events surrounding Martina Navratilova’s intervention into the debate about trans inclusion in the female sporting category is explored with regard to key markers in the case study: @Martina intervenes; Self-censorship and loss of control; Legitimisation by status; Legitimisation by history; and Privileging and disciplining women in the media. As a prominent feminist and lesbian activist who asserted cisgenderist arguments on this topic, the events of the Navratilova case study show how feminist voices are complexly fragmented. Moreover, we demonstrate too how feminist perspectives are controlled by a media system that uses them in the substantiation of cisgenderist projects of discrediting trans athletes and actors

Athletes · Censorship · Context (archaeology · Feminism · Inclusion (mineral · Intervention (counseling · Lesbian · Media studies · Political science · Popular media · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Sports, Gender, and Society

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access