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When Being Female Isn’t Feminine: Uta Pippig and the Menstrual Communication Taboo in Sports Journalism
Abstract
In this paper, I examine newspaper coverage of Uta Pippig’s 1996 Boston Marathon. Pippig won the Boston Marathon for the third time in a row, in spite of being slowed by menstrual cramps, heavy menstrual flow, and diarrhea. These obstacles and Pippig’s victory over them, as well as her competitors, received disparate treatment in newspaper coverage of the marathon. This coverage provides a rare look at how menstruation is constructed, and erased, in sports journalism.
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“Kissling (1999) and Marshall (1995), for example, have noted that abortion, infertility, bulimia, hysterectomy, and pregnancy are taboo subjects that are rarely investigated or reported.”
From Abandoning The Performance Narrative: Two Women's Stories of Transition from Professional Sport (2009) · cites this paper as Kissling (1999)
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Metadata
- Authors
- Kissling, E. A.
- Affiliations
- Eastern Washington University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kissling, Elizabeth Arveda
- Venue
- Sociology of Sport Journal
- Publisher
- Human Kinetics
- Published
- 1999-06
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 79-91
- ISSN
- 0741-1235 (ISSN-L)
- 1543-2785
- OpenAlex
- W344404385
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sociology of Sport Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sports, Gender, and Society
- Social Sciences › Communication › Journalism and Media Studies
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Keywords
- Boston Marathon, menstruation, sports journalism, media coverage, menstrual cramps, heavy menstrual flow, diarrhea, gender and femininity, menstrual taboos, female athletes, media representation of women
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