Beyond 'Good Enough for a Girl'. Understanding How Mainstream Media Representations of the Black Ferns (Ngā Mamaku) Have Shifted Over a Decade

Abstract

The game of rugby has historically been seen as a man’s game, particularly in Aotearoa New Zealand where the nation’s identity is centred around the mythology that is the All Blacks. As a result, women in rugby and in particular the Black Ferns or Nga Mamaku have typically been sidelined in the landscape of sports media. Mainstream media have created an illusion that this pattern of marginalisation is no longer present and that equity in coverage has already been achieved for the Black Ferns. However, it is far from the truth. Rooted in patriarchal and colonial systems, the Black Ferns face systemic barriers that intersect to protect the masculine identity of rugby and maintain male dominance at the top of the sports media hierarchy.

The present research investigates how mainstream media have constructed representation of the Black Ferns across two distinct periods (2014-2015 and 2024-2025) which both includes a non-World Cup year and World Cup year. In particular, the study examines how visibility, framing patterns, and representation has shifted across the decade and what these shifts reveal about media attitudes and broader structures. Relevant literature and secondary sources of online articles have been used in this study to understand these shifts and expose what gaps still exists for media in their coverage of the Black Ferns. The study concludes that although mainstream media have made progress to move away from gendered stereotypes and limited visibility for the Black Ferns, there are still significant gaps in media coverage of the team. It uncovers subtle traces of gendered ideologies that frame women in a stereotypical manner, masked patterns of conditional visibility, and fragmented portrayal of the players indigenous identities.

Mainstream media still have a long way to go before they claim the illusion of equity in media coverage as a reality for the Black Ferns. It is recommended that media change the institutional structure to allow for more routine coverage of the team, build competency around the use of gendered stereotypes, and tackle more stories that speak to the cultural identity of a team that is predominantly Maori and Pasifika.