Gender and sports in Algeria

: Visual and thematic analysis of media, social and cultural factors.

Abstract

This thesis explores sports and gender in Algeria. Drawing upon visual and feminist theories, this interdisciplinary study focuses on investigating visual representation of male and female football athletes in online media and perceptions of athletes about this representation. It also investigates athletes’ views on men’s and women’s sports coverage and the potential factors influencing media representation of male and female athletes in Algeria. The aim of this study is to explore how gender shapes the representation of football athletes in Algerian online sports media, by analysing visual portrayals and exploring athletes’ perceptions of these representations, as well as their views on the broader social and cultural factors that influence them. This research is significant as it addresses gap in the literature by examining the influence of gender on the media representation of athletes, while also exploring athletes’ perceptions on the issue in Algeria, within a non-Western societal context.

This research was conducted using qualitative methodology combining visual semiotic analysis of online media content and interview method. The findings of semiotic analysis reveal differences in the visual representation of male and female football athletes. Particularly, in relation to poses, gaze, social distance, angle, image quality, emotions, and sense of nationalism. The thematic analysis of interviews also reveals differences in the visual representation of male and female football athletes and underrepresentation of women’s sports. The analysis of interviews demonstrates the influence of sociocultural factors, including patriarchal conservative culture, gender roles, misinterpretation of religion, gender bias and gender-based allocation of media resources in media representation men’s and women’s sports. These factors privilege the visual representation of male athletes, especially male footballers.

This study makes important contributions through adding to body of knowledge on sports and gender by researching a new context. The findings contribute to the non-Western research on sports and gender namely research from Muslim and Arab culture. It also contributes to the field by constructing a theoretical framework that can be used in future feminist research on sports and gender in Arab and Muslim context. Additionally, findings of this study could have policy implications and raise awareness of the issue.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Canterbury Christ Church University