The article’s title is ‘Forgive me for saying, but rugby is not a game for women:’ an exploration of contemporary attitudes towards women’s rugby union’. The piece was based on Bethan’s undergraduate dissertation topic. The paper aimed to address the gap in the literature on sport, gender, and communication by exploring attitudes toward women's rugby.
Bethan is a big rugby fan across both women’s and men’s game and was inspired by conversations she’d had with friends and colleagues about women’s rugby. This inspired her dissertation topic and made her want to delve into exploring people’s attitudes about the women’s game, especially in a time where the sport is still growing.
The European Journal for Spor and Society is an international, peer-reviewed publication that features original research aimed at advancing social scientific knowledge worldwide.
Reflecting on her time at Loughborough, Bethan said:
Loughborough gave me so many opportunities alongside my degree. Across my four years, I played AU Hockey, took a Rec Sport committee role, volunteered for Lightning Rugby and Loughborough Students’ Union Media, and even worked as a lifeguard at the pool. This not only gave me a massive network of people within the Loughborough community and beyond but helped inspire me to do my research and let me build experience for my eventual career in sports journalism and broadcast."
She added:
A lot of the people I've met over the years took part in my research and acted as a vessel to share my research survey to the wider rugby community, which shaped the large number of responses that I received and helped strengthen my data. And, in my career, I regularly bump into people from the Loughborough bubble!"
Bethan has previously been employed by ESPN as a Digital Video Content Associate. She is currently a Junior Producer at ITV. She expressed her gratitude for her time at Loughborough and credited Dr Michael Skey and others for their support, particularly in shaping her dissertation and inspiring her career in sports media through the Communication and Sport module.
She encouraged current students to fully immerse themselves in everything Loughborough offers, highlighting how her own experiences were key to shaping her professional path.
Find out more about Bethan and Michael’s paper.