Tough Girls In A Rough Game Patriarchy Analysis

This paper explores two recent articles, ‘Tough Girls in a Rough Game’ written by Mary Celeste Kearney (2011) and ‘From Riot Grrrls to roller derby? Exploring the relations between gender, music and sport’ written by Adele Pavlidis (2012), which focus on female athletes in roller derby and how women are subjected to patriarchy in sports. This essay compares how both of these articles discuss patriarchy and gender norms. However, the articles differ, in how Kearney (2011) discusses how women are represented as dramatic and sexualised in the television show, Rollergirls; whereas, Pavlidis (2012) explains how roller derby, in reality, empowers women.

Kearney’s (2011) article focuses on an American television series, Rollergirls, and the way it was produced and promoted (p. 284). Kearney (2011) states her opinion of how roller derby upsets gender norms as a women sport that contains provocativeness and aggressiveness. She explains how women and female athletes are publicised in the media in their ‘traditional’ ways that are specific …show more content…
Kearney (2011) discusses how Rollergirls’ producers use the direct address technique in filming and how this creates patriarchy in sport. With the direct address technique being used in Rollergirls’, it allows a single skater to discuss her thoughts and feelings in relation to personal issues (Kearney 2011, p. 293). With the skater discussing her thoughts and feelings, it adds to the viewer’s empathy. The show restricts the personal issue to one character per episode and causes the opportunity to aid consumers to critically reflect on women’s frequent experiences and how they relate to superior social structures to be missed. If the show addressed the issue to aid the consumers to reflect this, than it could lead the consumer to realise the issues that females experience beneath patriarchy. It can then inspire the consumers to take political action (Kearney 2011, p.