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The Media as an Authorising Practice of Femininity: Swiss Newspaper Coverage of Karin Thürig’s Bronze Medal Performance in Road Cycling

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Olympic Women and the Media

Part of the book series: Global Culture and Sport ((GCS))

Abstract

Karin Thürig from Switzerland won the bronze medal in the 24 km road cycling event at the 2004 Olympic Games. She was the only Swiss female athlete to win a place in Athens. Despite female cycling being a relatively unknown and unpopular sport for women in Switzerland, her success received considerable media coverage. This chapter analyses Swiss newspaper articles printed the day after Thürig’s medal-winning performance. I use Michel Foucault’s concepts of biopower and normalisation to examine how the Swiss sports media constructed this athlete. I begin by providing an overview of Foucault’s theoretical understanding of how modern forms of power affect the construction of human identity and life experiences. Second, I use this Foucauldian framework to examine how the newspaper articles represented and produced Thürig according to dominant feminine norms, as well as how the athlete herself, in her interviews, appeared to support the same ideals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland

    Natalie Barker-Ruchti (researcher and lecturer)

Authors
  1. Natalie Barker-Ruchti
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alberta, Canada

    Pirkko Markula (Professor of Socio-cultural Studies of Sport and Physical Activity) (Professor of Socio-cultural Studies of Sport and Physical Activity)

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© 2009 Natalie Barker-Ruchti

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Barker-Ruchti, N. (2009). The Media as an Authorising Practice of Femininity: Swiss Newspaper Coverage of Karin Thürig’s Bronze Medal Performance in Road Cycling. In: Markula, P. (eds) Olympic Women and the Media. Global Culture and Sport. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230233942_11

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