About the candidate:

Egil Trasti Rogstad​ has a Bachelor degree in journalism from 2015 and a Masters degree in Social science with specialization in journalism from 2017, both from Nord University. During his studies he also worked as a freelance sports journalist.

The title of the thesis is:

Virtual(ly) Women Athletes; A S​tudy of Gendered Power Relations and Inequality in Sports-Themed Esports

​The title of the trial lecture is:

Equitable esports in the professional organisation of sports-themed videogame competition

Time for trial lecture: 10:15 – 11:15
Time for public defence: 12:15 – 15:30
Place​​: Bodø, Auditorium A2 Stein Rokkan
Chair of defence: Dean Elisabet Ljunggren

​​Adjudication committee​: 

• Associate professor Emma Witkowski, RMIT University in Melbourne (first opponent) 
• Associate professor Jordan Matthews, University of Chichester (second opponent)
• Associate professor Torill Mortensen, Nord University
  

​Supervisors: 

• ​Main supervisor: Professor Lisbeth Morlandstø, Nord University
  
• Co-supervisor: Associate professor​ Anne Tjønndal, Nord University
  

About the thesis:

This thesis focuses on gendered power relations and inequality in sports-themed esports (esports based on sports simulation games). Due to the continuing merging of sports-themed esports and traditional sports, the esports industry’s deeply rooted issues concerning a significant underrepresentation of women, sexist stereotypes and harassment constitute a major challenge. The aim of the thesis is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex issues and challenges that women players face within sports-themed esports. The following main research question is posed: How do gendered power relations influence gender inequality in sports-themed esports?

This research question is addressed by means of four separate studies, each with their own research questions and methodological approaches. Article I is based on a traditional narrative review that presents the current research on gender and esports. In Article II, a document analysis is used to examine the gendered challenges and opportunities relating to the IOC’s strategy to include esports in the Olympic Games. Article III is based on a Foucauldian discourse analysis and examines how the media constructed Chiquita Evans when she became the first woman player in the NBA 2K League. Article IV draws on an online survey of sports video game players to examine their perceptions of gendered character representations in these games.

Although esports is regarded as a non-physical form of sport in which men have no physical competitive advantage over women, the findings in the thesis further demonstrate how sports-themed esports participation involves additional challenges for women players. As a result, the traditional dynamics of male domination in sports seem inescapable, even in the virtual space of sports-themed esports.