Idea Development and Micro Proposal for Podcast 2

Generating ideas:

• women's experience as sport fans, reaction towards female fans and female fan communities

• issues in sport: climate action (greener sport), gender fairness and inclusion, mental health

• use of social media in sport: fan content creation, teams/clubs socials, how social media has affected the way fans interact with a sport

• the formula e AI female influencer, Mahindra team

• underfunding of women's sports

• paywalls in sport

• overconsumption, fast fashion

• advertising and sponsors in sport, e.g gambling and alcohol companies

• the streaming culture of sport

• the next generation

Women's experience as sport fans:

• Joey Barton

• female motorsport fans experience harassment at Grand Prixs, (Austrian GP 2022)

• football is the most popular sport in the world

• motorsport is the fastest-growing sport in the world (F1)

People to contact:

• F1 female content creators

• F1 journalists

• female drivers, girlsontrack

• maybe someone who researched female fans' experiences

• Rebecca Clancy F1 Journalist

The e-mail:

Hello, I am Rachel, a trainee journalist, and am looking to find someone who is experienced in motorsports to be a guest on a podcast that is looking at female fans’ experiences in motorsport. As a female motorsport fan I have unfortunately encountered misogyny, and it is heart-breaking to see women suffer in the sport they love. I also aspire to work in motorsports, and hope that I can make a difference for women in the sport that is so dear to my heart. It would be incredible if you could spare 30 minutes or so to do a quick interview for our podcast, sharing your experiences and opinions.

Micro-proposal:

As females who are fans of sports (football and motorsport), we know how hard it can be in male-dominated sports that aren't progressive. As a budding motorsport content creator myself, I know that it can be a struggle for female fans to voice their opinions about the sport they love, without facing sexism. So this podcast will take a look at the experience of female fans in football, the world's most popular sport, as well as the world's fastest growing sport, F1! We are gonna dive into the impact of women in these sports and the attitude towards the growing population of female fans. We will explore these three questions: what is the experience of female fans in motorsport? how does that compare to the experience of female football fans? what does the future look like for female fans and what can we do to make them feel more included, welcome and safe? I think this will be interesting for gen z as many young people are becoming fans of sports like f1 and football and want to see sports be more inclusive.

TALKING POINTS

SEGMENT	BROAD TOPIC:	SPECIFIC TALKING POINTS:
1	What is the experience of female fans in motorsport?	The rise in female motorsport/f1 fans What is the experience of a female fan “Drive it out”  What the FIA and F1 are currently doing to address the issue Is it going to get better?
2	F1 in the digital age and it’s effects on female fans.	The online mistreatment that female fans receive for voicing their opinions. The “tiktok-ification” of F1 and its effect.  Is f1 content creation on social media too diluted and are there too many people doing the same thing? Podcasts.  Case study Lissie and MattP1Tommy
4	What does the future look like for female fans and what can we do to make them feel more included, welcome and safe?	What needs to be done to address the issues female sports fans face? Big corporation energy Female fans bring a lot to the sports they love, and how will this help them bring change? The positive effect of women in sport (social media) Content creation in the future, do we see a rise in women working in motorsports and related media?

FACT SHEET

SEGMENT	TOPIC	RELEVANT FACTS, FIGURES AND QUOTES
1	What is the experience of female fans in motorsport?	Motorsports is more accessible than ever, through social media  As of December 2022, females make up 40% of F1 fans, an 8% increase from 2017.  In 2022 female fans were harassed at the Austrian Grand Prix.  Female fans feel discouraged as there is a lack of role models for female fans as there are not female drivers who are progressing to the highest levels of motorsport, due to lack of opportunity and track time for young female talent, but also there are barriers to women in motorsport (‘Other barriers outlined by the study include no tailored training available to female drivers; persistent doubts over women’s ability to drive fast; less track time; fewer role models, and a culture that’s either ‘unwelcoming or inappropriate’.) but also the sport remains male-dominted in terms of media and engineering. Gender split in f1 . Many fans of the sport aspire to then work in the sport, however female fans may be discouraged from following that path if they don’t have role models and there is a toxic culture surrounding them however you could say nowadays there are more females on the screen in f1. In the sport’s 73 year history, only 5 women have driven in F1 and since the last Lella Lombardi, who drove between 1974 and 1976. Many female fans experience misogyny online with people questioning their legitimacy as motorsport fans. ‘DTS fan’ is also used as an insult for female F1 fans. Women are often branded as fans because of the ‘hot drivers’ but that is not the case. Women enjoy close exciting racing, with adrenaline rushes, but how they face criticism purely because they are female fans Women have created a newfound appreciation of motorsport.  Female fans have a lot of power.  Talk about women’s power and influence in the sport  F1Toni’s Tiktok titled ‘In Defense of the Fangirl’ and also Lissie Mackintosh ‘Dear Christian Horner’.,  2022 ‘Drive it out’ video of all drivers on the grid and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicalli, this video was published after reports of fan abuse during Austrian GP July 2022.  The Grid Clique created a safe place for female fans as well as the LGBTQ+ community and people of colour who are motorsport fans but often felt afraid to engage in conversations about the sport they love. Mahindra Formula E team AI influencer, instead of employing a female.  Austin GP friendship bracelet, integrating different parts of female culture into f1. Taylor Swift x F1.
2	F1 in the digital age and it’s effects on female fans.	F1 tiktok bracelet exchanges  Lissie Mackintosh case study  Female communities especially on tiktok Female fan culture, maybe talk about edits, but also the other content they post, f1twt, fanfics and DRs.
3	The future	The female fanbase will continue to grow - More young girls will want to be involved in motorsport - Hopefully we will see female f1 drivers in the future. Girls on Track. Measures such as safe zones, a hotline and a strict zero tolerance policy at races can help female fans feel safer when they go to watch a Grand Prix.  Events like what happened at Spa in 2022 may make some female fans hesitant to attend races as they don’t feel safe and the FIA and F1 aren’t transparent enough and communicating what they are doing to help fans feel safe. Female fans need role models in the sport, to see women in roles and that will inspire them because many fans want to go into the industry. Female fans are seen as less knowledgeable and also with the rising numbers of female fans more change happens, and that can threaten people who want the sport to be traditional, motorsport isn’t that progressive.  Talk about future of F1 Academy, will it provide a place for female talent to thrive and fans to have role models, as they see women in the roles they want to be a part of, whether that be at the steering wheel, behind-the-scenes or on the cameras (engineering, driving and media).

Micro Proposal:

The podcast is about the experience of female fans in f1 as we take a look at some cases where female fans have faced harassment and judgement, being questioned about their legitimacy as fans. We analyse the growth of the female fanbase in F1, also playing a big part in the social media side of F1. Female fans influence in the sport is undeniable, so we also explore figures like Lissie Mackintosh and predict what the future could hold aswell as what F1 and the FIA need to do to ensure female fans feel accepted in the sport they love.

The three key questions we are exploring are what is the experience of female fans in F1, what has been done to improve the representation of female fans, and what still needs to be done to make sure female fans feel accepted and appreciated. We chose this subject as all of us as hosts are female fans of sport, I'm a F1 fan and also venturing into the world of content creation, so I feel like I can share my experience. Also, unfortunately many female fans share the same experiences of judgement especially online and it must be talked about. I think it will be engaging for an audience of young people; not only are we trying to bring light to the issue in F1, but also the issue in wider sport and the world.