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This paper analyzes representations of Simone Biles in media coverage of two major gymnastics events in 2019. It asks which, if any, gendered and racial stereotypes identified in previous scholarship about media coverage of Black and women athletes are also present in coverage of Biles. It also interrogates in what ways these stereotypes intersect as distinct forms of representation of Biles as a Black woman. Employing the tenets of feminist theory and Black feminist thought through an intersectional lens, a qualitative textual analysis of 34 articles revealed that both gendered and racial stereotypes were present in coverage of Biles. The most prominent stereotypes include feminized emotions, lack of mental fortitude, negative attitudes, and physicality. These intersecting representations underscore the persistence of these stereotypes in contemporary discourse. This paper contributes to, and advances, the literature on media representations of women athletes, Black athletes, and Black women athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child marriage is a problem that has continued to attract global attention. The media have been identified as critical to the fight against the scourge as it discusses the capacity to raise awareness of the issue as well as trigger action in solving the problem. The report of the alleged abduction of a minor, Ese Oruru by one Yunusa Dahiru for marriage jolted the nation and sparked public outcry for her release. This study explored newspaper framing of the incident. Drawing from qualitative frame analysis, it examined how Punch and Daily Trust newspapers framed the alleged abduction saga. The study found that there was contrastive framing of the incident with Punch newspaper portraying the issue as abduction while Daily Trust newspaper depicted it as elopement. The influence of socio-cultural leanings of these papers on the contrastive framing is discussed. The implication of the divergent framing of the saga on the fight against child marriage is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines 59 online articles written about a photograph of Nancy Pelosi standing up in the White House cabinet room and pointing her finger toward Donald Trump. Trump released the photo and tweeted his own interpretation of it; online articles followed discussing descriptions and/or interpretations of the image and the surrounding events. This paper focuses on how the media discourse of this moment reflects views about the expression of power in politics, its tie to emotion and emotionality, and its sometimes subtle connection with gender. Analysis of the articles showed that the media interpreted the nonverbal cues in the photograph as reflective of individual power displays, relative power as enacted through dominance and submissiveness nonverbal cues, and changing relative power through one person's nonverbal cues lowering another's apparent power position. It also reflected an existing cultural belief that emotionality and power are generally inconsistent in politics, with some exemptions for anger displays, and the particular challenges of emotional display for women in politics. In doing so, the media coverage continued its masculinization of the political sphere in less visible ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two (Black athlete vs. Asian athlete) by two (Black viewer vs. Asian viewer) by two (male vs. female) mixed factorial experiment was designed to examine sports viewers’ parasocial interaction (PSI) with basketball athletes of color. Results found that sports viewers were more likely to exhibit higher PSI when viewing athletes who belonged to their same racial group than viewing those from another racial group. Black viewers showed higher PSI with Black athlete than with Asian athlete. Correspondingly, Asian viewers reported higher PSI with Asian athlete than with Black athlete. Evidence for similarity identification suggested that the more similar media viewers were to media characters, the more likely media viewers were to develop affective bonds with media characters. In the context of online mediated sports, these affective bonds would direct sports viewers to desire greater similarity to athletes, activate them to take athletes’ perspective, and eventually lead them to higher PSI with athletes in online mediated sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Trapped inside of every white girl is a strong black woman ready to bust out."This is the tag line for Lifetime's new realitymakeover show, Girlfriend Intervention. In the show, four Blackwomen transform Whitewomen(whothey call a BW for "basicwoman") from"a red hot mess" to a "bootylicious babe."Throughout each episode, the girlfriends provide near-constant prescriptions for how Black women should behave and perform their femininity. This project examines the ways in which the girlfriends on the show dictate the boundaries of Black female authenticity. Specifically, the authors explore the ways the stars of the show essentialize Black womanhood as they provide viewers a sort of "hand guide" for how to be a Black woman. A critical discourse analysis of how the girlfriends use the certainty adverbs always and never will help highlight the presence of gendered and racialized essentialism found in the show. Lastly, the authors will discuss the possible implications watching Girlfriend Intervention may have, not only on Black women, but also on the entire viewing audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable research has investigated work/life balance challenges faced by professional women in the West; considerably less research has focused on challenges faced by Sub-Saharan African women, in spite of the dramatic increase in women professionally employed in these countries. One strategy used to cope with work/life challenges is hiring domestic helpers, and interpersonal conflicts often arise between these workers and their female employers. Therefore, this qualitative study focuses on these conflicts that arise in Kenyan households. Seventy university female faculty and staff members completed a questionnaire asking them to describe these conflicts and the conflict strategies they use during these difficult interactions. Follow-up interviews also were conducted. Data analysis revealed specific areas of conflict that reflected the unique dialectical tensions that occur in this work context; for example, the workspace is both public and private and the employer–domestic worker relationship is both intimate and distant. Communication strategies used by these professional women to deal with these conflicts also were identified as were suggestions for reducing conflict and maintaining a collaborative working environment to ensure more equitable and satisfying work relationships. Finally, suggestions for future research as well as theoretical challenges for organizational communication scholarship are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mary McLeod Bethune is one of the most profound and influential African Americans in the history of American democracy. To some, she was often characterized as the “female Booker T. Washington,” because she was held in high regard by both White and Black audiences. She is notably respected for her avid persistence to uplift the race, advocating quality education and civil rights for Blacks. However, though her life and work single-handedly changed U.S. race relations, Bethune is not well known as a rhetor. With all the speeches, presentations, lectures, meetings, and conversations she had, most scholarship on her life is primarily concentrated in history or there is a one-to-two page overview of her entire life in almanacs or biographical sources, still excluding scholarly explication of Bethune's rhetoric. The goal of this article is to provide this rhetorical examination. To continue to build, as rhetorical scholar Olga Davis noted a Black female rhetorical tradition, my aim is to demonstrate the rhetorical strategies employed by Bethune to self-define herself, extol Black womanhood, and reclaim Black female humanity, challenging the dominant White supremacist narrative of femininity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]