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Digital selves: A cross-cultural examination of athlete social media self-presentation during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Ahead of Print.
This study investigates the social media self-presentation of Chinese, South Korean, and US athletes during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with the aim of elucidating the influence of gender and nationalism on their online portrayals across countries. A total of 1800 photographs posted by 278 Olympians were analyzed, revealing that (a) South Korean athletes, particularly males, display a higher prevalence of business-related images in their self-presentation compared to athletes from other countries; (b) Chinese athletes exhibit a greater degree of nationalism in their posted photographs than their South Korean and US counterparts; and (c) female athletes, although gaining agency over their online presence, still demonstrate behaviors reinforcing conventional gender norms. This research underscores the multifaceted interplay of gender, nationalistic, cultural, political, and ideological factors in shaping athletes’ self-representations on social media, offering valuable insights into the complex dynamics that inform their digital self-expression.
This study investigates the social media self-presentation of Chinese, South Korean, and US athletes during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with the aim of elucidating the influence of gender and nationalism on their online portrayals across countries. A total of 1800 photographs posted by 278 Olympians were analyzed, revealing that (a) South Korean athletes, particularly males, display a higher prevalence of business-related images in their self-presentation compared to athletes from other countries; (b) Chinese athletes exhibit a greater degree of nationalism in their posted photographs than their South Korean and US counterparts; and (c) female athletes, although gaining agency over their online presence, still demonstrate behaviors reinforcing conventional gender norms. This research underscores the multifaceted interplay of gender, nationalistic, cultural, political, and ideological factors in shaping athletes’ self-representations on social media, offering valuable insights into the complex dynamics that inform their digital self-expression.
Democracy and Breach of Contract Risk: An Assessment of How Different Dimensions of Democracy Weigh on Postcolonial States
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Just Transition in Australia – depoliticisation?
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A quest for legitimacy? An exploratory study of the new meanings of sports and physical activity in contemporary Saudi Arabia
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Ahead of Print.
The Saudi Arabian Kingdom is currently undergoing significant socio-cultural changes, primarily driven by Vision 2030, a strategic document outlining the nation's future development. This initiative includes efforts to enhance sports participation and physical activity levels across various sectors of the country. This paper represents one of the first attempts to understand the effects of the Vision on domestic sports/physical activities policy through the lens of selected actors in the field. with a special interest in youth sports. Based on extensive fieldwork that took place within the country, including qualitative semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from various organisations within Saudi sports, we identify several key facets seen as crucial enablers or obstacles for the field of sports and physical activities. The individual facets form two main groups – activities of state authorities in Saudi Arabia, specifically the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sports, and informal practices influenced by broader cultural changes oscillating between the traditional views and contemporary demands. Amongst the identified cultural facets, gender takes a crucial discursive position. As we examine these processes through the lens of concepts of soft power and rightful resistance, we identify formal and informal legitimation practices used by stakeholders to achieve and potentially surpass the goals set by Vision 2030 for the Kingdom's sporting landscape.
The Saudi Arabian Kingdom is currently undergoing significant socio-cultural changes, primarily driven by Vision 2030, a strategic document outlining the nation's future development. This initiative includes efforts to enhance sports participation and physical activity levels across various sectors of the country. This paper represents one of the first attempts to understand the effects of the Vision on domestic sports/physical activities policy through the lens of selected actors in the field. with a special interest in youth sports. Based on extensive fieldwork that took place within the country, including qualitative semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from various organisations within Saudi sports, we identify several key facets seen as crucial enablers or obstacles for the field of sports and physical activities. The individual facets form two main groups – activities of state authorities in Saudi Arabia, specifically the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sports, and informal practices influenced by broader cultural changes oscillating between the traditional views and contemporary demands. Amongst the identified cultural facets, gender takes a crucial discursive position. As we examine these processes through the lens of concepts of soft power and rightful resistance, we identify formal and informal legitimation practices used by stakeholders to achieve and potentially surpass the goals set by Vision 2030 for the Kingdom's sporting landscape.
Political polarization and intimate distance: Negotiating family conflicts during a high-risk protest movement
Current Sociology, Ahead of Print.
Political polarization not only threatens democracy, but also disrupts family lives, causing clashes between family members with discordant political orientations. This article examines how individuals negotiate family conflicts during political divides, by focusing on the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong. Based on data drawn from interviews conducted with 37 self-identified protest participants, I develop the concept of intimate distance in order to capture the way in which the participants negotiated political disagreements with their immediate family. Individuals make peace with their families during a high-risk movement, not merely by restoring closeness, but also by adjusting the intimate distance with their family members in three interconnected aspects: everyday family life, cognitive and emotional aspects. Individuals employ a repertoire of practices, together with emotion work and boundary work, to alleviate confrontations, rebuild consensus, and contain political risks. This study contributes to a more nuanced conceptualization of intimacy and family conflict resolution, and unravels the impact of family interactions on the intensification or alleviation of ideological and affective polarization in relation to the interpersonal and societal level.
Political polarization not only threatens democracy, but also disrupts family lives, causing clashes between family members with discordant political orientations. This article examines how individuals negotiate family conflicts during political divides, by focusing on the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong. Based on data drawn from interviews conducted with 37 self-identified protest participants, I develop the concept of intimate distance in order to capture the way in which the participants negotiated political disagreements with their immediate family. Individuals make peace with their families during a high-risk movement, not merely by restoring closeness, but also by adjusting the intimate distance with their family members in three interconnected aspects: everyday family life, cognitive and emotional aspects. Individuals employ a repertoire of practices, together with emotion work and boundary work, to alleviate confrontations, rebuild consensus, and contain political risks. This study contributes to a more nuanced conceptualization of intimacy and family conflict resolution, and unravels the impact of family interactions on the intensification or alleviation of ideological and affective polarization in relation to the interpersonal and societal level.
Living together as a solidarity and generative practice: the case of co-housing and organized cohabitations
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Exploring the role of female egalitarian values in the 2022 protests in Iran, using data from the World Values Survey
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Varieties of just transitions in the European car industry
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Podcasting women’s pleasure: Feminism and sexuality in the sonic space of China
Sexualities, Ahead of Print.
This article sheds light on the landscape of sex-positive podcasts for women in mainland China, with particular emphasis on the podcast Bitch Up (2015–2022). Drawing on the sexualization of popular culture in China since the 1990s, we trace the origins of sex-positive podcasting back to late-night radio to show how the celebration of women’s sexual pleasure in podcast form builds an erotic sonic space that engages with feminist discourses of liberation through pleasure. Through historical and discourse analysis, we argue that Bitch Up sought to establish a new sexual norm that moulds the orgasmic body as female and reconfigures pleasure as an act of women’s self-determination. Refusing to conflate sexual celebration with sex education, Bitch Up discovered and nurtured an appetite for sexual pleasure and expressivity amongst Chinese women that contributes to understanding the complexities of feminism, erotics and politics in contemporary China.
This article sheds light on the landscape of sex-positive podcasts for women in mainland China, with particular emphasis on the podcast Bitch Up (2015–2022). Drawing on the sexualization of popular culture in China since the 1990s, we trace the origins of sex-positive podcasting back to late-night radio to show how the celebration of women’s sexual pleasure in podcast form builds an erotic sonic space that engages with feminist discourses of liberation through pleasure. Through historical and discourse analysis, we argue that Bitch Up sought to establish a new sexual norm that moulds the orgasmic body as female and reconfigures pleasure as an act of women’s self-determination. Refusing to conflate sexual celebration with sex education, Bitch Up discovered and nurtured an appetite for sexual pleasure and expressivity amongst Chinese women that contributes to understanding the complexities of feminism, erotics and politics in contemporary China.