Type of Document Master's Thesis Author Allen, Cindy Marie URN etd-04252006-141320 Title March's Gendered Madness: An Analysis of Print Media Representations of a Female Division I NCAA Women's Basketball Coach - Pat Summitt Degree Master of Arts Department Communications Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Dr. Michael Bruner Committee Chair Dr. Marian Meyers Committee Member Dr. Mary Stuckey Committee Member Keywords
- Media coverage
- Lesbians and Sport
- Women's Basketball
- Gender stereotypes
- Female coaches
- Pat Summitt
- Female athletes
Date of Defense 2006-04-19 Availability unrestricted Abstract This study explores the extent to which national newspaper coverage of a successful female coach reflects the broader gender ideology of society. This study looks specifically at the New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today's coverage of six Women's Division I national basketball tournaments in which Pat Summitt coached the University of Tennessee in the championship game. The years included for this analysis are 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004. This rhetorical analysis examines this print coverage to determine if, consistent with previous research on media coverage of the female athlete, Summitt's traditional gender role is privileged over her coaching role. The results suggest that Summitt is characterized in ways that marginalize and trivialize her coaching acomplishments. The findings also suggest that even as women succeed in the male-dominated world of sport, societal pressures require that they be presented as properly gendered heterosexual females.Files
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