BEYOND THE GLASS CEILING: A DIALECTICAL FRAMEWORK OF AGENCY AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION FOR CHINESE FEMALE SPORTSCASTERS

Abstract

This article addresses the complex professional experiences of female sportscasters in China's male-dominated media industry by proposing a new theoretical framework. While existing research often focuses on either structural constraints or isolated acts of resistance, this paper argues for a more integrated, dialectical perspective. It introduces the "Dynamic Gendered Field and Agentic Identity Construction" framework, which synthesizes theories of field, power, performativity, and intersectionality to analyze the mutual constitution of structure and agency. The framework conceptualizes the media industry as a "dynamic gendered field" that imposes structural pressures and examines "agentic identity construction" as the micro-level process through which female professionals strategically navigate these pressures. To demonstrate the framework's utility, the paper presents a concise case illustration of a Chinese female sportscaster, "Xiao Hong." The analysis reveals how she strategically converted "emotional labor" from a stereotyped constraint into a form of symbolic capital, thereby performing a type of micro-resistance and successfully reconstructing her professional identity. The paper concludes that this dialectical framework offers a more nuanced and holistic tool for understanding how professional identity is negotiated, performed, and redefined within gendered industries, contributing critical insights across media studies, gender studies, and the sociology of professions.