Female Identity in Sports: A Discourse Analysis of Eileen Gu’s Narrative

Abstract

Sport is considered to be mainly dominated by male in the general perception, while female athletes have historically been in a ‘disadvantaged’ position. Eileen Gu, a promising young female skier, has shattered this stereotype to some extend by demonstrating her female power. This paper takes the narrative model as the theoretical framework to analyze the self-narrative in Gu’s interview, aiming to decipher the significance beyond the literal by examining brief words, phrases, or sentences, and explore the process of constructing her female identity as a female athlete as well as the factors that influence her.