2021
Turtiainen, Riikka
‘Dare to Shine’: Megan Rapinoe as the Rebellious Star of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 Book Section
In: Dashper, Katherine (Ed.): Sport, Gender and Mega-Events, pp. 133-148, Emerald Publishing, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-83982-937-6.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Inequality, Megan Rapinoe, Post-feminism, Social media, Sports
@incollection{Turtiainen2021,
title = {‘Dare to Shine’: Megan Rapinoe as the Rebellious Star of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019},
author = {Riikka Turtiainen},
editor = {Katherine Dashper},
doi = {10.1108/978-1-83982-936-920211013},
isbn = {978-1-83982-937-6},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-29},
booktitle = {Sport, Gender and Mega-Events},
pages = {133-148},
publisher = {Emerald Publishing},
abstract = {In 2019, FIFA Women's World Cup turned into a mega event with enormous viewing figures. The U.S. player Megan Rapinoe became a star of the tournament on and off the field. Her controversial presence as an outspoken athlete-activist gained attention worldwide. In this chapter I examine her representations in social and mainstream media during the World Cup. In context of social media I focus on her Instagram posts and ephemeral stories with ethnographic observation and field notes. I utilize feminist thematic analysis of female athletes’ self-representation strategies on social media. The key concepts emphasizing neoliberal post-feminism here are self-love, self-disclosure and self-empowerment. (Toffoletti & Thorpe 2018.) As a result, I argue that the time is finally right for the new kind of recognition of women’s football and therefore need for a rebellious female athlete who takes advantage of this opportunity to raise awareness of equality among (sports) people.
},
keywords = {Inequality, Megan Rapinoe, Post-feminism, Social media, Sports},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
In 2019, FIFA Women's World Cup turned into a mega event with enormous viewing figures. The U.S. player Megan Rapinoe became a star of the tournament on and off the field. Her controversial presence as an outspoken athlete-activist gained attention worldwide. In this chapter I examine her representations in social and mainstream media during the World Cup. In context of social media I focus on her Instagram posts and ephemeral stories with ethnographic observation and field notes. I utilize feminist thematic analysis of female athletes’ self-representation strategies on social media. The key concepts emphasizing neoliberal post-feminism here are self-love, self-disclosure and self-empowerment. (Toffoletti & Thorpe 2018.) As a result, I argue that the time is finally right for the new kind of recognition of women’s football and therefore need for a rebellious female athlete who takes advantage of this opportunity to raise awareness of equality among (sports) people.