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Navigating Rights and Realities: Understanding Public Perceptions of Transgender Athletes in Women's Boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Social Media
- 1 Nanjing Foregin Language School
- 2 Art & Humanities, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- 3 Broadcasting and Hosting, Linyi Vocational College, Linyi, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This article examines public opinion on social media regarding transgender athlete Imane Khelif’s participation in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. By synthesizing existing literature and empirical research, the study identifies key factors that influence public opinion, such as exposure to trans narratives and ideological orientation. The software MDCOR (Media Data Collection and Organization Research) and SENA (Sentiment and Network Analysis) were used to analyze the collected data, from the perspective of relevant words of comments, audience sentiment analysis, and big data word cloud. The analysis reveals a complex situation, with clear divisions in public sentiment regarding the different aspects of transgender participation in sport. In addition, the political leanings of the media also have an impact on public opinion. The research aims to inform policy discussions and frameworks that respect the rights of all individuals, while considering wider implications for fairness and justice in competitive sport.
Keywords
transgender rights, public opinion, social media, Media Data Collection and Organization Research, Sentiment and Network Analysis
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Cite this article
Shi,X.;Chen,Z.;Liu,Y. (2025). Navigating Rights and Realities: Understanding Public Perceptions of Transgender Athletes in Women's Boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Social Media. Communications in Humanities Research,68,55-75.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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