A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book
Women Professionals in Finnish Sport: Agency and Expertise in the Changing Media Environment
Authors: Ehrlén Veera; Turtiainen, Riikka
Editors: Tjønndal, Anne; Turtiainen, Riikka; Frandsen, Kirsten; Rogstad, Egil Trasti
Publisher: Routledge
Publication year: 2025
Book title : Women in a Digitized Sports Culture: Nordic Perspectives
Series title: Women, Sport and Physical Activity
First page : 192
Last page: 210
ISBN: 978-1-03-286444-0
eISBN: 978-1-00-352756-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003527565-14
Web address : https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003527565-14
In this chapter, we examine the agency and expertise of women sports professionals in the changing media environment, focusing on social media. Our research data consists of thematic interviews with Finnish women sports journalists and coaches, as well as survey responses and social media content updates by Finnish women national team football players. The theoretical framework of the study is feminist sport media studies. We use the analytical concept of inspirational labour to understand the similar experiences of agency among women sports professionals who are repeatedly forced to showcase their skills and prove their competence in the field and to act as pioneering role models for future generations. We thus show how the hegemonic structures of sport culture continue to influence women’s roles in media sport in the era of social media by defining three dimensions of agency for women sport professionals: adaptation, role modelling and resistance.