An endless race against sexism?

The year 2017 was marked by the global #MeToo movement and with it, a rise in the attention for feminist issues across various national contexts. Regarding Formula 1, a traditionally male-dominated sport, a newfound emphasis on gender inequality led to the launch of two exclusively female racing series in 2019 and 2023 respectively. Despite this rise in gender equality efforts and the fact that women have never been disadvantaged or banned from the sport by regulation, female drivers still struggle to obtain the same sponsoring and track- and testing time required to get signed by professional teams and sponsorships and build experience as men. A possible explanation for the continued issues women face in motorsport is the way they are perceived and how this is reflected in their position and treatment. Ever since the days of its conception, racing has been an elite club designed by and for men. Moreover, sports in general are a field especially affiliated with patriarchal norms and values due to their association with physical power and competition. Therefore, female athletes have historically been undervalued or excluded from these spaces altogether. Media have significant power to influence people’s views and beliefs on notions such as gender by consistent reproduction of certain and exclusion of other perspectives. Indeed, trends of sexualization, trivialization, undermining, and underrating of female athletes have been explicated in the media. While scholars generally denote a positive trend in gender equality in sports and the framing of female athletes in media, racing seems to be lacking behind. With the #MeToo movement inspiring an increase in attention and efforts for feminist issues, it will be interesting to see if this is reflected in Formula 1’s mediated gender discourse. As such, this thesis investigates how international sports and racing media reproduce or challenge hegemonic gender discourses in Formula 1 in the post-Me Too era. Specific focus is on the role prominent actors play in this mediated debate, as they are often used by media as credible sources, which gives them the power to shape the narratives and ideas that get reproduced and reinforced. Thematic analysis was conducted on 45 online news and opinion articles of five news and racing media, in which a critical feminist lens was adopted. It was concluded that media offer a space for debate in which conventionally hegemonic gender discourses are both actively challenged and reproduced. Media and quoted prominent actors both undermine female efforts by reinforcing patriarchal gender norms and stereotypes and advocate for increased female inclusion and fundamental restructuring towards gender equality. However, patterns of backlash against traditionally dominant gender ideas and practices suggest a shift in hegemony might be occurring. Finally, while traditionally excluded, women were included as credible sources in the articles. Despite this, however, prominent actors with varying ages, gender, and roles were used for credibility on both sides of the debate, both reinforcing and challenging gender inequality in racing.