With the rise of social media and the popularity of outdoor sports, more young women are sharing sports-related photos and videos online, giving rise to the “sports goddess” phenomenon. This trend has sparked debate, being seen as a reflection of modern women’s active and healthy lifestyle, yet criticized for excessive image focus, deviating from true sports spirit. This research aims to analyze the bodily expression behind the phenomenon and its impact on sports culture, using self-presentation theory and power-disciplinary theory to explore how social media shapes women’s self-expression. This study uses theoretical analysis based on Erving Goffman’s self-presentation theory and Michel Foucault’s power-disciplinary theory. It observes sports-related content posted by young women on social media platforms (e.g., Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin), combining literature review and case analysis to explore bodily expressions in digital sports participation and their social-cultural implications. Data sources include public content on social media and academic literature, with analysis focusing on theoretical interpretation and phenomenological description. The study is a split between frontstage and backstage in the “sports goddess” phenomenon. On the frontstage, women curate idealized health images through planned sports scenes, emphasizing aesthetics and fashion. However, backstage, the true sports experience is overlooked, with the body becoming a visual consumption object and sports reduced to a “photo-ready” activity. This reflects how social media disciplines women’s bodies, where the pursuit of popularity and aesthetics leads to a deviation from the true essence of sports, transforming it into a symbol of visual consumption. The “sports goddess” phenomenon highlights the complexity and contradictions of women’s bodily expression in the social media era. While it shows women’s pursuit of bodily autonomy, it also reveals the disciplining and commercialization of their bodies by social media. This study calls for reflection on the meaning of bodily expression and advocates for a return to the essence of sports, emphasizing authentic bodily experiences. Future research could explore how policy and content innovation can reduce social media’s negative effects on women’s bodies and promote a healthier sports culture.
Zongrui Ye (Thu,) studied this question.