Representations of Black Athletic Bodies in New Media
Abstract
Black athletic bodies have been viewed differently due to how various media outlets represent them. Black athletes have been praised for their athletic prowess and often maligned when they speak out against issues that impact Black communities. This study attempts to find out how Black men in sports are represented in new media when they seek leadership positions, when they speak out about social issues, and when they loan their bodies to commercial ads that address social issues. This study explores digital articles on the Rooney Rule to see how Black coaches are represented. The study explores visual Internet memes to see how the Colin Kaepernick protest is depicted. Finally, the study looks at Nike commercial ads posted on YouTube to see how Black athletes are portrayed. What was produced from the study is that Black coaches are depicted as emasculated Black men by sports journalists who covered the Rooney Rule. After viewing close to 600 visual Internet memes, there were two thematic ways Colin Kaepernick is scripted - as unworthy and dangerous. Last, Nike exploits Black athletes in their commercials and still relies upon antiquated stereotypes to portray Black men as only coming from impoverished environments. What is learned from this study is that new media platforms do not create new forms of interpretations about the Black masculine body. Also, nothing has changed about the portrayals of the Black athletic body when it endeavors to speak out against social issues that plague Black communities.
Citation
Anderson, Chante (2021). Representations of Black Athletic Bodies in New Media. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /195154.