When Being Female Isn't Feminine: Uta Pippig and the Menstrual Communicaiton Taboo in Sports Journalism.

In this paper, I examine newspaper coverage of Uta Pippig's 1996 Boston Marathon. Pippig won the Boston Marathon for the third time in a row, in spite of being slowed by menstrual cramps, heavy menstrual flow, and diarrhea. These obstacles and Pippig's victory over them, as well as her competitors, received disparate treatment in newspaper coverage of the marathon. This coverage provides a rare look at how menstruation is constructed, and erased, in sports journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]