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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2003 How can I be like Mike? : professional female athletes and the negotiation of identities in the presence of media images Susan Melanie Gutkind Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Gutkind, Susan Melanie, "How can I be like Mike? : professional female athletes and the negotiation of identities in the presence of media images. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2003. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5136 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Susan Melanie Gutkind entitled "How can I be like Mike? : professional female athletes and the negotiation of identities in the presence of media images." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. Leslee Fisher, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Susan M. Gutkind entitled "How CanI Be Like Mike? Professional Female Athletes and the Negotiation ofldentities in the Presence of Media Images." I have examined the final paper copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: w (7)J& }L,..,.. /(-<.J, C. -r,1- Acceptance forthe Council: HOW CAN I BE LIKEMIKE? PROFESSIONAL FEMALE ATHLETES AND THE NEGOTIATION OF IDENTITIES IN THE PRESENCE OF MEDIA IMAGES A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Susan M. Gutkind August 2003 11 Copyright © 2003 by Susan M. Gutkind All rights reserved 111... ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There have been many people who have helped in the production and completion of this product. I greatly appreciate the efforts of the women and men in the Women's Athletic Department who helped me contact the co-participants of this study. I am indebted to the eight exceptional women athletes who volunteered to share their experiences and perspectives with me. Talking with them was the highlight of the project, and ranks high on my "all-time" list as well! In no particular order (since all are equally important), and with apologies to anyone I inadvertently missed, I would like to thank the following people for their help and support: Karen Appleby, CeCe English, and Kerrie Kauer-Research group extraordinaire (more on them in Chapter 3 !). Your insights and understanding provided much more than just the categories and actions we "found." You made data analysis both enjoyable and productive. It's one thing to be able to share work with intelligent colleagues, it's an absolute gift to be able to call you friends as well. Becky Morgan, Jamie Bloom, ChrisHofmann, and Jenny Moshak. Never underestimate the power of encouraging and supportive friends--especially when they've got unending ideas for distractions! I can't even imagine what this past year would have been like without you, and I'm indescribably glad I didn't have to findout. Dr. Joy DeSensi, Dr. Chris Holmlund, and Dr. Ron Taylor. I suppose I could have chosen a more ... lenient ... committee, but the work is stronger for your input-and I am, too. You are educators in every sense of the word, and I have learned far beyond the lV classroom forhaving worked with you. Thanks, especially, for all the extra time, effort, and support you provided during the late stages of the project. Dr. Leslee Fisher. You had details when all I had were broad ideas. Thanks for helping shape the work. Dr. Craig Wrisberg. Your vision for sport psychology brought me to Tennessee, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I have valued your guidance and support during these past three years. Finally, and ( despite what I said at the beginning) most importantly, I would like to thank my family, something I don't think I do nearly often enough. You have given me both roots and wings. I never doubt your love or your belief in me, and that, more than anything else, keeps me striving yet grounded. I was able to do this dissertation because of you, and it is with great love and thanks that I dedicate it to you. V ABSTRACT Traditional definitions of manhood-strength, aggressiveness, power, speed­ collapse almost completely into traditional definitions of sports (Kane & Parks, 1992); to be masculine is to be athletic, and vice versa. Within this ideology, the female athlete presents an incongruous blend of traits; the historically defined qualities of femininity (passivity, dependence, weakness) are exclusive to those of "traditional athletes." When combining aspects of the self that are culturally in conflict (as in, "I am a female" and "I am an athlete"), the negotiation of identity is influenced by hegemonic discourse (Hall, 1997). That is, there are certain preferred methods and vocabularies used when discussing both gender and sports that have gained power and potentially limit the ways female athletes are thought of and described. Postmodern theories (ex., Butler, 1997) make the claim that gender positions (and, therefore, identities) are fluidand dynamic, with multiple subjectivities continuously taking the fore. Within this framework, there is no space fora "core" identity (Layton, 1998), yet media images and casual conversation suggest a strong desire for one. The present study is designed to develop a theory about how female athletes who receive national media coverage negotiate self-identities and media images. Eight professional/Olympic female athletes who receive national media coverage were interviewed with a semi-structured protocol to provide informationabout negotiation of identities. Qualitative, inductive analysis revealed two emergent categories: 1) Intending to "Be Like Mike," and 2) Competing in a Business Arena. These categories, and their supporting actions are presented and explored. Also presented is an integrated identity theory that suggests female athletes who receive media Vl coverage employ several different strategies (often unconsciously) in negotiating the athlete self, the sexed self, stereotypicalfemales, and mediated images as self-identities are dynamically created and recreated. Conclusions and applications forsport psychology professionals, as well as implications for futureresearch are discussed. .. vu TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Overview ofTopics........................................................................................ 2 Hegemony and Gender Ideologies in Sport ....................................... 2 Identities and Binary Categories ........................................................ 6 Media Coverage of Female Athletes.................................................. 8 Summary .......................................................................................... 10 Statement of Purpose ................................................................................... 12 Limitations ................................................................................................... 12 Delimitations ................................................................................................· 13 Definitions.................................................................................................... 14 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................... 17 Gender Ideologies in Sport .......................................................................... 17 Male Hegemony in Sport ................................................................. 19 Gender Identities in a Postmodern World .................................................... 21 Problematizing Binaries ................................................................... 23 Binaries in Sport .............................................................................. 26 Toward a Negotiated Model of Female Athlete Identities ........................... 28 The Role of the Media ................................................................................. 31 Television Codes .............................................................................. 33 Sport Photography ........................................................................... 3 5 Ambivalence .................................................................................... 37 Media Representations of Female Athletes ................................................. 38 Feminist Sport Research .............................................................................. 42 Critical Theory ................................................................................

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