Tonya Harding Research Paper

The mainstream media is a brutal medium where individuals engage in selfish, hurtful acts all in the name of generating money and publicity. In the context of Tonya Harding, the mainstream media used her unconventional looks and unorthodox habits as a way to bash and exploit her through embellished narratives (Krause 44). Harding grew up in a working-class family with limited funds, and she had hobbies such as fishing, hunting, and mechanics, all placing her outside of the proper embellishment of figure skating (“Tonya Harding”). The media companies picked up on this deviance and increasingly racialized her into "white trash" (Krause 33). Although Harding possessed the stamina and strength to master the skills necessary to become an Olympic champion, she lacked one crucial aspect, the "natural" elegance of figure skating (Krause 38). Taking this all in consideration she therefore "did not conform to the dominant Anglo-ideology of what sorts of bodily form an Olympic figure skater" (Krause 34). Pointing out that this unfair portrayal within the media arose from the fact that since the beginning, society deemed Harding as unfit to represent the nation as she lacked this natural feminine image, socioeconomic class, and background that was hegemonic to the standards of figure skating (Krause 43).

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Tonya Harding Research Paper