Imperialism and the 1999 Women's World Cup: representations of the United States and Nigerian national teams in the U.S

• Other Authors: Canning, Michele.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Florida Atlantic University
• Subjects: World Cup (Soccer); FIFA Women's World Cup; Women soccer players; Women soccer players > Nigeria; Soccer for women; Soccer for women > United States; Imperialism > Psychological aspects; Nationalism and sports; Mass media and sports
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/192982

This research examines the U.S. media during the 1999 Women's World Cup from a feminist postcolonial standpoint. This research adds to current feminist scholarship on women and sports by de-centering the global North in its discourse. It reveals the bias of the media through the representation of the United States National Team as a universal "woman" athlete and the standard for international women's soccer. It further argues that, as a result, the Nigerian National Team was cast in simplistic stereotypes of race, class, ethnicity, and nation, which were often also appropriated and commodified. I emphasize that the Nigerian National Team resisted this construction and fought to secure their position in the global soccer landscape. I conclude that these biased representations, which did not fairly depict or value the contributions of diverse competing teams, were primarily employed to promote and sell the event to a predominantly white middle-class American audience. === by Michele Canning. === Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. === Includes bibliography. === Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.