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What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics
In an overcrowded Michigan courtroom in January 2018, hundreds of girls and women – most of them gymnasts – gave Victim Impact Statements speaking to the abuse they faced not only by then-defendant Larry Nassar, but by numerous coaches. Many testified to the fact that it was the culture of (USA) gym...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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African Studies
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613289547038720 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Goosen, Nicola |
| author2 | Thompson, Miche |
| author_browse | Goosen, Nicola Thompson, Miche |
| author_facet | Thompson, Miche Goosen, Nicola |
| author_sort | Goosen, Nicola |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | In an overcrowded Michigan courtroom in January 2018, hundreds of girls and women – most of them gymnasts – gave Victim Impact Statements speaking to the abuse they faced not only by then-defendant Larry Nassar, but by numerous coaches. Many testified to the fact that it was the culture of (USA) gymnastics, led by national team coaches Márta and Béla Károlyi and CEO Steve Penny, that not only allowed this abuse to occur but allowed it to continue despite numerous official reports on Nassar and many other coaches. This research investigates which discourses in the gymnastics world contributed to the perpetuation and obfuscation of decades-long sexual, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse by many of those in a position of power over athletes. The research was conducted through a Critical Discourse Analysis of competition commentary, interviews with coaches and gymnasts, and documentaries covering the sport. The CDA was informed by a computer-assisted corpus analysis of the data collected. It was found that various discourses surrounding weight and diet, mental fortitude, incredibly high expectations, and discourses that explicitly objectify gymnasts, contributed to the perpetuation and obfuscation of abuse at USA Gymnastics. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41592 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:45.686Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | African Studies |
| publisherStr | African Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41592 What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics Goosen, Nicola Thompson, Miche Perpetuation, Obfuscation In an overcrowded Michigan courtroom in January 2018, hundreds of girls and women – most of them gymnasts – gave Victim Impact Statements speaking to the abuse they faced not only by then-defendant Larry Nassar, but by numerous coaches. Many testified to the fact that it was the culture of (USA) gymnastics, led by national team coaches Márta and Béla Károlyi and CEO Steve Penny, that not only allowed this abuse to occur but allowed it to continue despite numerous official reports on Nassar and many other coaches. This research investigates which discourses in the gymnastics world contributed to the perpetuation and obfuscation of decades-long sexual, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse by many of those in a position of power over athletes. The research was conducted through a Critical Discourse Analysis of competition commentary, interviews with coaches and gymnasts, and documentaries covering the sport. The CDA was informed by a computer-assisted corpus analysis of the data collected. It was found that various discourses surrounding weight and diet, mental fortitude, incredibly high expectations, and discourses that explicitly objectify gymnasts, contributed to the perpetuation and obfuscation of abuse at USA Gymnastics. 2025-08-18T06:34:44Z 2025-08-18T06:34:44Z 2025 2025-08-18T06:32:06Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41592 en eng application/pdf African Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Perpetuation, Obfuscation Goosen, Nicola What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics |
| title_full | What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics |
| title_fullStr | What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics |
| title_full_unstemmed | What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics |
| title_short | What is a girl worth: the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in USA gymnastics |
| title_sort | what is a girl worth the role of discourse in the perpetuation and obfuscation of institutional abuse in usa gymnastics |
| topic | Perpetuation, Obfuscation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41592 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT goosennicola whatisagirlworththeroleofdiscourseintheperpetuationandobfuscationofinstitutionalabuseinusagymnastics |