Professional Habitus and the Construction of Gender: The Case of Male Journalists for Sports Magazines in France

This article analyzes the role of male journalists in the construction of gender models in the specialized mountain bike press. Using Pierre Bourdieu's field and habitus theory, it shows that the masculine and feminine media figures are mainly dependent on the professional habitus of these male journalists. Indeed, on one hand, professional socialization experiences out of the mountain bike press do facilitate a critical attitude regarding the most stereotypical gender models. On the other hand, male journalists who inversely spent all of their career within the mountain bike press do perpetuate representations in keeping with the dominant doxa.