Alexzandra Mansueto

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Research Project

The Online Perception of Women in Sports

Bio

I am a fourth-year Professional Communication student completing a double minor in Marketing and Public Relations. I have a strong interest in both the Sports and Fashion Industries as shown by my previous education in Fashion. My partner Olivia Grasman and I are excited to present our Signify project on the topic of the Online Perception of Women in Sports. We examined and explored the social media comments and online commentary regarding women in sports and the audience’s perception of it.

Research Summary

This study investigates the online perception of female athletes, emphasizing the volume of social media hate comments and posts and the negative bias sports fans hold towards women participating in activities traditionally reserved for men. We researched online commentary threads in addition to social media comments to further prove our theories on the negative perceptions of women. Although women’s sports have seen an increase in welcoming and participation in more recent years, for example, the PWHL, female athletes still face public scrutiny and criticism on all social media platforms and online commentary websites. We examined TikTok, Instagram and the popular commentary site Reddit to find the top posts and threads with negative comments against female athletes and negative comments against male athletes. Our findings further prove the negative bias women face in the sports industry, on a daily basis.

Research Poster

A detailed collage mimicking an Instagram feed with images of diverse female athletes including sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, a tennis player, basketball players, and shot putter Gong Lijiao. A central yellow banner reads 'OFFSIDE COMMENTS' and describes a study on online misogyny, social media hate, and negative bias against women in sports traditionally reserved for men. Multiple comment bubbles contain examples of hate speech such as 'My mom is busy in the kitchen. Where you should be.' and 'When I realized it was women basketball I lost all interest in the video.'

Lightning Talk

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