Negotiating Normative Boundaries: Indian Sportswomen and Social Media Culture

Abstract

The first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed massive drives for digitization of all aspects of human lives. It has resulted in digital media, in its myriad manifestations, being an integral part of our day to day lives. Whether it be in the form of online portals, OTT services or social media platforms, the digital age has opened up new avenues for gender politics to be created, constructed, circulated and critiqued. The question of gender in the digital-scape includes the representation of gender in the digital space, the practices of gender stereotyping and gender discrimination, the idea of gender as performance and so on. The gendered dichotomies of the interior/exterior and the private/public associated with women and men, respectively, have adversely affected women’s sports and games in India. The recent struggles for women’s emancipation and empowerment and the attempts to promote gender equality and equity have resulted in increased participation in women’s sports and games. The role of digital media, especially social media, in the growing popularity of women’s sports and games in India is undeniable. The digital media services have increased the coverage and popularity of women’s sports and games in India and worldwide. It has also contributed to increase in investment and opened up new avenues for revenue generation. This paper aims to explore the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of women’s sports and social media in the Indian socio-cultural milieu. It argues that to a large extent, gender shapes the social media attitude towards sportspersons and tries to explicate how sportswomen on digital media platforms in general and social media platforms in particular constantly negotiate the gendered gaze and the cultural stereotypes associated with women and women’s bodies. The social media as a gendered space and its intersection with select events in the life and career of Indian sportswomen will be studied to understand the gender politics behind media-generated images of sportswomen and the performative nature of their social media presence.