ABSTRACT
In the 50 years since second-wave feminism created significant challenges to cultural expectations of women (Gilmore and Evans, 2008), it can be argued that participation in sport is not only accepted but valued for girls and women. Yet, despite this sea change in expectations and an exponential rise in female participation, women’s sporting activities are rarely seen as sufficiently culturally important to warrant media coverage. In short, the vast majority of women’s sport still does not matter to mainstream media and, by implication, to those who read, view and listen to what these media produce. Overall, the message is “Go ahead and play, but don’t expect us to pay attention” (Bruce, 2013: 131). Why this is the case is the focus of this chapter, focusing on the potential of social media to disrupt this discourse. Thus, a key goal of the chapter is “exposing the relations of power that exist within society at any given moment in order to consider how marginal, or subordinate groups might secure or win, however temporarily, cultural space from the dominant group” – in this case, through the vehicle of social media (Procter, 2004: 2).
