The gender progressive institutional entrepreneurs in mountain biking media

Gender progressive institutional entrepreneurs in mountain biking media
Gender progressive media showcases women's contribution to sport, and is a key part of fostering inclusive sports cultures. Yet, there is a gender order in sports media production, and recent research has noted that we need to pay more attention to the dynamics that shape its production. We need a better understanding of the practices that reconstitute, or challenge, the established production of male-dominated content that masculinizes sport. As such, we explore the gender-progressive entrepreneurial practices of cultural production professionals in mountain biking. This context is chosen to exemplify the unique action sports media complex. Here, specialist magazines remain the cultural gatekeeper of the sport, in which brand marketing content is a dominant part of the cultural representation. Through our reflexive thematic analysis of 16 in depth interviews, we illuminate the closed networks that form the foundation of the male dominated industry, making it challenging for women to gain entry and traction. Such male dominance shapes the decision making and thus media content, failing to challenge the pervasive gender order. Yet, gender progressive entrepreneurs are pushing back against institutional norms, drawing on progressive societal discourses that challenge the subordination of women in action sports. They are engaging in reflexive practice in various forms, which can become routinized and feel 'natural' when institutional dynamics align with progressive societal ideals. However, significant institutional constraints also pervade the sector, including a lack of institutional will to support women, and to recognise and use the media to forge cultural shift in mountain biking.
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