Media portrayal of sportswomen in East Asia: A systematic review

• Published in: International review for the sociology of sport Vol. 54; no. 8; pp. 989 - 1004
• Main Authors: Xue, Yue, Huang, Tao, Sun, Qilin, Tang, Ning
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.12.2019; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Autonomy; Femininity; Marginality; Mass media images; Media coverage; Narratives; Nationalism; Social media; Sports; Systematic review; East Asia; nationalism; media portrayal; appropriate femininity; sportswomen
• ISSN: 1012-6902; 1461-7218
• DOI: 10.1177/1012690218768206

It has been widely recognized that women in Western countries are marginalized in the sports field, and sports media is one of the institutions that strengthens such trivialization. However, there are very few studies investigating women in sports in countries outside of Europe and the USA. The aim of this study is to review how sportswomen are portrayed in sports media in China, Japan, South Korea and North Korea. East Asian media is congruous in its disparities regarding quantity of coverage between domestic athletes and abroad athletes, between sportsmen and sportswomen, and between international events and local events. Narratives and commentary focus on nationalism, appropriate femininity, non-sports related aspects of sportswomen’s lives, and the dual identities of sportswomen. Some slight differences regarding quantity, narratives and commentary exist between the four countries. In its current state, scholarly research on media images of sportswomen is contradictory and too limited. Overall, more studies regarding how sportswomen are represented in East Asian media are needed, with further considerations of social media and media autonomy while making essential connections to social and cultural contexts.