I Am Woman, But Not Roaring: An Examination of Similarities and Differences in How Male and Female Professional Athletes are Using Twitter

Abstract

The Twitter activity of male and female athletes was analyzed in this study to determine how they connect with fans and enhance their public profile. The emergence of social media provides female athletes more control over their public image. Drawing on research in public relations, a quantitative content analysis of tweets produced by athletes was examined using the dialogic principles and the use of the structural features of the platforms. Findings from this study indicated some difference between male and female athletes’ use of Twitter. Males employed the “generation of return visits” principle along with the use of hashtags that indicate a more strategic use of social media, and female athletes tended to produce original tweets with useful information and frequently interacted with other users.