25 | Fighting Visibility: UFC Female Fighters and the Millennial Sports Media Brand with Dr. Jennifer McClearen

This week, Miguel spoke to Dr. Jennifer McClearen (@jmcclearen), a feminist media scholar whose research examines sports, difference, and consumer culture. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Sports, Media, and Culture in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. McClearen published her first book, Fighting Visibility: Sports Media and Female Athletes in the UFC, with the Studies in Sports Media Series with the University of Illinois Press in March 2021. 

First, Miguel asked Dr. McClearen about the Millennial Sports Media Brand and how the UFC leveraged the early days of blogs and social media to market their product. Additionally, Miguel and Dr. McClearen broke down how the UFC uses the myth of the American dream and protestant work ethic to get their fighters to buy into the UFC neoliberal business model. Dr. McClearen explains how it harms female fighters, and in particular, non-white female UFC fighters. Miguel also asked Dr. McClearen about the relationship between the UFC and the gig economy, the push by former UFC fighter Leslie Smith to unionize UFC fighters, plus more. Note: Originally recorded on July 22, 2021, before the cancellation of Nunes vs. Pena at UFC 265.

Next, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVP for episode 25, current Bellator MMA fighter Leslie Smith. Finally, Miguel ends the podcast with another Chicana/o Sports History segment. This week, he does something slightly different and highlights Unite Here Local 2 and the San Francisco Giants/Oracle Park concession workers, who voted to authorize a strike on September 4, 2021.

Miguel Garcia produced this episode. Sports As A Weapon is now part of the @Anticonquista Collective Network. Check out Anticonquista on YouTube and on Instagram! 

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Miguel Garcia produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok!

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