Medusa's stare: celebrity, subjectivity and gender

Smiling assassins, brides-to-be and super mums: the importance of gender and celebrity in media framing of female athletes at the 2016 Olympic Games

“…Cohen (2013) suggests that Tweddle's non-celebrity was due to her physical strength and technical abilities, and her misalignment with normative ideals of femininity in and beyond gymnastics. Consequently Tweddle did not embody the type of corporeal femininity valued in women who achieve celebrity (Edwards, 2013). Further, although Tweddle had popular support, as evidenced through her Twitter following and coming third in the Sports Personality of the Year award, she received little media support.…”

“…Celebrity status in relation to women generally, and female athletes in particular, is complex. Edwards (2013) argues that too little attention has been paid to the ways in which celebrity is gendered, and this gendering occurs on at least three levels. First, the production of celebrity is gendered, as men and women play different roles in relation to the media's hand in the promotion of fame.…”

“…In sport, the dominance of men in most positions in journalism -from reporters, to editors, presenters and producers -illustrates how gender is integral to the production of sporting celebrity, which, through the British print media, the focus of this study, is dominated by men. Second, celebrity is gendered in relation to consumption (Edwards, 2013). Men and women consume celebrity differently and through different mechanisms.…”

“…Consequently, in relation to this study, the most likely consumers of sporting celebrity through the British print press are men; male journalists are writing for a maledominated audience, and this will affect the types of stories covered, and the nature of that coverage. Third, the content of celebrity is gendered, with men and women becoming famous in different ways, or for different reasons (Edwards, 2013). Men are more likely to become famous for what they do -such as sporting success -whereas women are championed more for how they look.…”

“…Applying Edwards's (2013) framework to sporting celebrity as represented through the British print media suggests that gender will be an important aspect of such celebrity, on all three levels.…”