Fighting Visibility: Sports Media and Female Athletes in the UFC

by Jennifer McClearen

Overview

Ultimate Fighting Championship and the present and future of women's sports

Mixed martial arts stars like Amanda Nunes, Zhang Weili, and Ronda Rousey have made female athletes top draws in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Jennifer McClearen charts how the promotion incorporates women into its far-flung media ventures and investigates the complexities surrounding female inclusion. On the one hand, the undeniable popularity of cards headlined by women add much-needed diversity to the sporting landscape. On the other, the UFC leverages an illusion of promoting difference—whether gender, racial, ethnic, or sexual—to grow its empire with an inexpensive and expendable pool of female fighters. McClearen illuminates how the UFC's half-hearted efforts at representation generate profit and cultural cachet while covering up the fact it exploits women of color, lesbians, gender non-conforming women, and others.

Thought provoking and timely, Fighting Visibility tells the story of how a sports entertainment phenomenon made difference a part of its brand—and the ways women paid the price for success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252052637
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	03/30/2021
Series:	Studies in Sports Media , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Jennifer McClearen is an assistant professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin.

Table of Contents

Cover TItle Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Visibility and Differences in the UFO 1. Developing a Millennial Sports Media Brand 2. Affect and the Rousey Effect 3. Gendering the American Dream 4. The Labor of Visibility on Social Media 5. The Fight for Labor Equity Coda: On Love and Violence Appendix A. Publicly Available UFC Payouts, 2015–2018 Appendix B. Publicly Available UFC Payouts by Gender and Race, 2015–2018 Notes References Index Back cover

Editorial Reviews

"Fighting Visibility demonstrates that female fighters are encouraged to imagine opportunities for professional success through UFC despite several significant ways in which these athletes are exploited. UFC positions the success of Ronda Rousey as something for both athletes and fans to emulate, following the notion that 'if you can see her, you can be her.' Yet McClearen's research shows that Rousey's success is exceptional and only portrayed as typical, rendering opportunity a likely facade." —Journal of Sport History

"McClearen urges scholars to move beyond dichotomous notions of visibility and to consider the cultural and material consequences of being seen. . . . Centering the well-being and lived experienced of female athletes, McClearen's Fighting Visibility provides a strong foundation on which to build a sustained critique of the relationship between media visibility and exploitation." —Media Industries

"The book is a fascinating read. . . . McClearen has written a compelling history of women in the UFC, along with the trials they have faced." —Sport in American History

"A scathing critique of the exploitation that defines the relationship of UFC to its women fighters, Fighting Visibility fills a hole in the study of sports. Never has this subject been explored with the depth and clarity that we have here. A necessary and groundbreaking read. It makes the point with crystal clarity: visibility and equity are not the same thing."—Dave Zirin, Sports Editor, The Nation

"With an extensive bibliography, this well-researched account sheds insight into the various issues that women in sport face, and the costs of their high visibility. . . . Highly recommended." —Library Journal

​"A must read for anyone interested in women, sport, and the media. Written by a quickly rising star in feminist media and communication studies, this book is a highly engaging account of the politics of women's participation and visibilities in UFC. It artfully identifies and explains important new trends in social media, branding, feminism, sport, and popular culture. Highly recommended reading!"—Holly Thorpe, author of Transnational Mobilities in Action Sport Cultures

From the Publisher

02/05/2021

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) began in 1993 with its founders not wanting women to participate—and consisted only of men participating in tournaments to determine which martial artist rose above the rest of the competitors representing various martial arts disciplines. It became known as mixed-martial arts (MMA), and represented competitors specializing in jiujitsu, karate, judo, and kickboxing. McClearen (radio-television film, Univ. of Texas, Austin) examines UFC in light of participation by women in MMA, especially as the sport created more recognition for women athletes, notably Ronda Rousey, who became the UFC's highest-paid athlete. McClearen looks at some of the exploitative practices in the sport, where fighters are often unpaid or underpaid. She also describes the sexism, racism, and homophobia that are ever-present in the sport. Notably, the author shows discrepancies in health care, including how fighters are responsible for their own medical costs outside the contracted period for a fight. VERDICT With an extensive bibliography, this well-researched account sheds insight into the various issues that women in sport face, and the costs of their high visibility. Those teaching and studying sport management should consider reading this book and using it in their research. Highly recommended.—Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Queens Village, NY

Library Journal