Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Dumitrescu, Anca
Author's Email Address	aad0396@fsu.edu
URN	etd-04072006-173026
Title	Representation of Female Athletes in Western and Romanian Media
Degree	Master of Arts
Department	Communication, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Danielle Wiese Committee Chair Arthur A. Raney Committee Member Stephen McDowell Committee Member
Keywords	Romanian Media Gender Roles Female Athletes Narrative Representation Western Media Ideology
Date of Defense	2006-03-14
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract ABSTRACT Most of the existing studies on female athletes’ representation fall under the premise of longitudinal research and focus on how the representation of female athletes has evolved throughout the years. Further on, they explore how this development fits in the broader arena of societal political and cultural developments in the Western World These studies tend to portray female athletes as occupying one of three roles: objects of male gaze, children or companions. While looking at the evolution of the representation of female athletes is a valuable research tool, analyzing the representation of female athletes from a multicultural perspective rather than a historical one can help place the representation of female athletes in an international context. This multicultural perspective can then offer a deeper understanding to the representation of female athletes around the world. In this study I performed a narrative analysis of the representation of female athletes in the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor. I identified two prevalent character roles that female athletes come to play in Romanian sports narratives: sports heroines and marionettes. The existence of these two character types can be understood as representative for Romania’s transitional state from a communist to a democratic country. When compared to the roles played by female athletes in Western media, these roles come to symbolize Romania’s unique political and cultural existence: one where communist reminisces are mixed with capitalistic ideals and where consumerism fights a close battle with traditional values of family and companionship.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    ad_thesis.pdf 585.65 Kb 00:02:42 00:01:23 00:01:13 00:00:36 00:00:03