Fifteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results from a study that looks at the social media and self-representational experiences of female and non-binary athletes in an elite Australian football context. Using unique, photography-led methods, the project offers new insights into the kinds of social and organisational (sporting) structures that shape the ways that these athletes present themselves, notably on social media, as their public visibility increases with the rise of women’s sport. Social media has become an increasingly essential avenue for athletes’ personal branding, fan engagement and endorsement opportunities. Emerging research suggests that public scrutiny faced by elite female and non-binary athletes has a negative and disciplining effect on the way they represent themselves, but also suggests that there is much yet to be discovered about player experience in this regard. This study offers a contribution to the field through a qualitative examination of player-directed visual media cultures associated with elite female and non-binary athletes. The project engages a professional photographer (myself) in collaboration with elite footballers to produce co-created photographs that players upload to their Instagram accounts and that provide the basis for discussion. Early results point to unique challenges – and also opportunities – for female and non-binary athletes with particular respect to their mental health and professional pathways. Data also suggests that social, political and organisational factors inform players’ identity and self-representational choices. The body is the site of their celebrated athleticism and also a site of both danger and opportunity in this ‘fledgling’ state of women’s professional sport.