Date of Award
5-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Communication
Committee Chair
Dr. John Meyer
Committee Chair School
Communication
Committee Member 2
Dr. Brent Hale
Committee Member 2 School
Communication
Committee Member 3
Dr. Traci Hayes
Committee Member 3 School
Health Professions
Committee Member 4
Dr. L. Paul Strait
Committee Member 4 School
Communication
Committee Member 5
Dr. Fei Xue
Committee Member 5 School
Communication
Abstract
This study examined how female athletes in a conservative society interpret, emotionally experience, respond to, and renegotiate relationships following perceived memorable messages that contain microaggressive meanings. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, the findings revealed that everyday discourse often functions to normalize subtle forms of gendered devaluation, particularly in relation to women’s participation in sport. Participants’ narratives further indicate that the attitudes embedded within these memorable messages are frequently transmitted across generations through family socialization, cultural expectations, and community norms. As a result, such messages not only sustain emotional burdens over time but also shape sense-making processes, communicative responses, and relational dynamics between message senders and recipients.
The analysis highlights how repeated exposure to these messages influences women’s self-perceptions, coping strategies, and decisions to either maintain, regulate, or withdraw from social relationships. In conservative contexts, these dynamics are further complicated by power hierarchies, cultural expectations of silence, and limited opportunities for open dialogue. Collectively, the findings extend understandings of memorable messages by situating microaggressive communication within a non-Western cultural framework and by illustrating how subtle, recurring discourse operates as a mechanism of gendered regulation in sport. Theoretical contributions and implications for memorable messages are discussed.
Copyright
Salha Alghamdi, 2026
Recommended Citation
Alghamdi, Salha, "“Drop the sports stuff and get a real job”: Women Athletes’ Recollections of Memorable Microaggression Messages" (2026). Dissertations. 2450.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2450
Included in
Arabic Studies Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons, Sports Communication Commons, Women's Studies Commons