Sports-Politics Research Project Expert Panel on Gender, Diversity, and Equality in Sports Narratives
Researchers and industry professionals analyze at UAB how sports fiction and documentaries shape the social perception of diversity, during a session dedicated to breaking down gender biases and new identities on screen.
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The event brought together academics and professionals to analyze gender narratives in current fiction, featuring experts from UAB, De Montfort University, and the AMDP.
Driven by a critical analysis of the male gaze and persistent stereotypes, the expert panel held at UAB served as a forum for reflection on the power of audiovisual storytelling. The session addressed how audiences consume narratives that often dictate the visibility of female athletes, placing the representation of non-normative identities and genuine equality at the heart of today’s academic and professional debate.
The Sports-Politics research team at IRE-UAB organized this event to further explore the role of these narratives and share the progress of its research lines. During the session, key milestones and strategic objectives were explored:
- Analyzing toxic masculinities in football comedy (The Ted Lasso case).
- Evaluating the representation of queer and non-normative characters in TV series.
- Studying the phenomenon of "false female empowerment" in audiovisual narratives.
- Presenting the monograph Series deportivas de televisión: Una perspectiva de género (Tirant lo Blanch).
The panel encouraged a direct dialogue between academic findings and the practical needs of the industry and public management. The list of participants included prominent figures such as Emilio Fernández Peña (Director IRE-UAB), Anna Tous Rovirosa (PI), Llorenç Mejino, Esther Olló, Jennifer Seefoo, Marina Ponsa, Mar Mas, Stephen Glynn, Melanie Williams, and Elena Neira.