I am fascinated by how women athletes have been and continue to be represented in various forms of media, including advertising, television, and newspapers. In particular, I am interested in how these women athletes’ gender intersects with their race, class, and other aspects of their identity.

Examples of publications on this are:

Ho, Michelle H.S. and Hiromi Tanaka. 2022. How Nissin Represented Naomi Osaka: Race, Gender, and Sport in Japanese Advertising” in Communication & Sport 10(4): 594-615.

Ho, Michelle H. S. 2017. “Tracing Tears and Triple Axels: Media Representations of Japan’s Women Figure Skaters,” in International Journal of Cultural Studies 20(6): 620-635.

Ho, Michelle H. S. 2014. “Is Nadeshiko Japan ‘Feminine?’ Manufacturing Sport Celebrity and National Identity on Japanese Morning Television,” in Journal of Sport and Social Issues 38(2): 164-183.

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Asian Masculinities in Figure Skating

Since 2020, I have been collaborating with Dr. Wesley Lim (Australian National University) in a project, “Asian Masculinities in Figure Skating.” Our project explores Asian masculinities in the performances and media representations of elite male figure skaters, such as Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu.

Presentations from this project are:

Ho, Michelle H. S. and Wesley Lim. 2022. “Asian Sporting Masculinities in Figure Skating: Media Representations of Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu as Rivals.” International Communication Association Annual Conference, Paris, France, May 26-31.

Lim, Wesley and Michelle H. S. Ho. 2021. “Hyperathletic Artistry: Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu Performing Asian Masculinities.” Ice (St)Ages: Icy Imaginaries in Science, Arts and Spectacles Conference, Virtual, July 28-29.

Publications from this project are:

Ho, Michelle H. S. and Wesley Lim. 2023. “Asian Sporting Masculinities in Figure Skating: Media Representations of Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu as Rivals.” Media, Culture & Society. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/01634437221140522.