Unique or double standard to aging in sports? Case of retired gymnasts

Abstract

The study aims to capture a socially constructed analysis of gendered media representations on retired Romanian gymnasts. The theoretical input discusses gendered representations, body projects, discursive tactics applied to gender within the context of sports, kinetic performance and contributions extracted from feminist critical discourse analysis. The overall approach views desistance, resistance and conformity as inextricably intertwined concerning gendered representations of sports participation. Discursive cues from the 20 selected media articles anchor meaning as points of reference for connecting ideas to broader networks of significance within an integrative analytical framework. The analysis of empirical findings dwells on discursive strategies for conformity and othering, empowerment and victimization. Media portrays women gymnasts in the post-retirement phase as de-centring from competition and assuming supportive roles that are thought as more becoming, typically feminine practices, whereas men are represented as remaining strong and competitive. From a somatic culture perspective, male gymnasts act more as role models for successful aging, being portrayed as maintaining desirable body attributes such as grit, strength, energy and vitality. In exchange, female gymnasts remain ambassadors of sports and community participation to physical exercise, but are expected to display disturbing or debilitating somatic signs of aging as negative repercussion of high-performance gymnastics.

Authors and Affiliations

Mara Stan

Keywords

Related Articles

Vaccines: saving lives or depopulating the world? A discourse analysis

In the present paper, we have analyzed the discourse of four pro and anti-vaccine Facebook pages, in order to understand how the discourse of each party is constructed and to observe the main similarities and differenc...

Migrants’ housing in the homeland. A case study of the impact of migration on a rural community: the village of Marginea, Romania

International migration induces changes in values and lifestyles, transformations perceived as well in housing practices and living standards. Building and decorating a home is one of migrants’ main targets, as the hou...

Connectivity and discontinuity in social work practice: Challenges and opportunities of the implementation of an e-social work system in Romania

To increase the efficiency of the social work system in Romania, “investments in improving the current IT system in order to build an efficient electronic social work system” (Romanian Government, 2015b, 85) and the “d...

Imagination, creation and literary origins: dreaming and waking

Quotation, allusion, mediumship and speaking with or through others’ voices is an established ad well-worked aspect of culture, indeed, it seems, across all cultures, an appropriate subject indeed for COMPASIO. So too...

Carl Christian von Weizsäcker, 2011, Homo Oeconomicus Adaptivus

“Homo Oeconomicus Adaptivus” is the title under which between 17th and 20th October 2011 the prestigious professor Carl Christian von Weizsäcker2 held a series of four lectures in the Graz Schumpeter Lectures3. Since...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP41068
  • DOI -
  • Views 239
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Mara Stan (2017). Unique or double standard to aging in sports? Case of retired gymnasts. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 8(2), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-41068