University of Education, Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA FRAMING OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN GHANA: A STUDY OF TWO SELECTED NEWSPAPERS GABRIEL KUSI A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES, FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF THE MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES) DEGREE. JULY, 2017 University of Education, Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DECLARATION STUDENT’S DECLARATION I, GABRIEL KUSI declare that this Dissertation, with the exception of quotation and references contained in published works which have all been identified and acknowledged, is entirely my own original work, and it has not been submitted, either in part or whole, for another degree elsewhere. SIGNATURE: ………………………….. DATE: …………………………………… SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines for supervision of Dissertation as laid down by the University of Education, Winneba. NAME OF SUPERVISOR: ……………..………………………………….. SIGNATURE: …………………………….…………. DATE: ………………………………………………. i University of Education, Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The task of undertaking this exercise has been quite enormous. I am extremely grateful to everybody who in their own diverse but crucial ways contributed to the successful completion of this work. Throughout the execution of this exercise the Almighty God has been my strength and guidance. Thank you immensely father Lord for the wisdom given me to complete this work. My heartfelt and deepest gratitude goes to my mentor as well as my hardworking supervisor, Dr. Andy Ofori-Birikorang for his directions, suggestions and contributions in the supervision of this work. Doc., thank you for your time, advice and encouragement shown me throughout the completion of this work. God bless you. I also want to acknowledge the HOD of Communication Media Studies Department, Ms. Joyce Mensah, Mr. Kwesi Aggrey, Mr. Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, Mr. Asare Okae-Anti, Ms. Christine Hammond, Ms. Abena Abokoma Asemanyi as well as Mrs Gifty Tetteh. My gratitude again goes to all the women who availed themselves for the interviews. Your inputs to this work helped immensely. To the 2016/2017 CoMSSA group, especially my colleagues Gifty Asare, Cynthia Annan Jackson and Stephen Owusu Achiaw, I say thank you all. I cannot end here without acknowledging the support of my siblings, Mrs. Marian Agyapong, John Kusi, Mrs. Martina Amoako, Augusta Kusi, Daniel Kusi and my dearest friend Kwaah Lawrencia for their emotional support and encouragement before and after my studies. Thank you and God bless you all. ii University of Education, Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DEDICATION To you my parents, Mr. Gabriel Raphael Kusi and Mrs. Felicia Yeboah for the sacrifices you have both made towards my academic goal. Thank you mom and dad for your financial, emotional, psychological and spiritual support during the course of my studies. Thank you and God bless you. i University of Education, Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. i ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Women’s Penetration into Sports ............................................................................................ 2 1.2. Traditional Expectations of Female Athletes ........................................................................... 3 1.3. On the Ambivalence of Women’s Participation in Sports Dominated by Men ....................... 4 1.4. Presentation of Female Athletes in the Media ......................................................................... 6 1.5. Influence of Media Frames ...................................................................................................... 8 1.6. Female Athletes and Women’s Sports in Ghana ..................................................................... 9 1.7. Gender Situation in Ghana ..................................................................................................... 12 1.8. Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................................... 14 1.9. Research Objectives ............................................................................................................... 15 1.10. Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 15 1.11. Significance of Study ........................................................................................................... 15 1.12. Delimitation ......................................................................................................................... 16 1.13. Organisation of the study ..................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 18 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 18 2.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 18 2.1. Media and Sports ................................................................................................................... 18 2.1.1. Sports and the Press ............................................................................................................ 19 2.1.2. Sports and Radio ................................................................................................................. 21 2.1.3. Sports and Television .......................................................................................................... 23 i University of Education, Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 2.2. Framing Theory ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.3. Media Frames......................................................................................................................... 27 2.4. Media Frames in Sports ......................................................................................................... 29 2.5. Media Frames Regarding Female Athletes and Women’s sports .......................................... 31 2.6. Effects of Media Framing on Female Athletes and Women’s Sport ..................................... 36 2.7. Feminist Theory ..................................................................................................................... 38 2.7.1. Basic Theoretical Questions Underpinning the Feminist Theory ....................................... 39 2.7.2. Liberal Feminism Response ................................................................................................ 42 2.7.3. Radical Feminism Response ............................................................................................... 43 2.7.4. Marxist/Socialist Feminism Response ................................................................................ 45 2.8. Summary ................................................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 47 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 47 3.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 47 3.1. Research Approach ................................................................................................................ 47 3.2. Research Design..................................................................................................................... 48 3.3. Period of Data Collection....................................................................................................... 49 3.5. Sampling and Sampling Technique ....................................................................................... 49 3.6. Sample Size ............................................................................................................................ 50 3.7. Data Collection Method ......................................................................................................... 51 3.8. Data Collection Instruments .................................................................................................