Fighting Visibility

" Fighting Visibility demonstrates that female fighters are encouraged to imagine opportunities for professional success through UFC despite several significant ways in which these athletes are exploited. UFC positions the success of Ronda Rousey as something for both athletes and fans to emulate, following the notion that 'if you can see her, you can be her.' Yet McClearen's research shows that Rousey's success is exceptional and only portrayed as typical, rendering opportunity a likely facade." -- Journal of Sport History
"McClearen urges scholars to move beyond dichotomous notions of visibility and to consider the cultural and material consequences of being seen. . . . Centering the well-being and lived experienced of female athletes, McClearen's Fighting Visibility provides a strong foundation on which to build a sustained critique of the relationship between media visibility and exploitation." -- Media Industries
"The book is a fascinating read. . . . McClearen has written a compelling history of women in the UFC, along with the trials they have faced." -- Sport in American History


" Fighting Visibility demonstrates that female fighters are encouraged to imagine opportunities for professional success through UFC despite several significant ways in which these athletes are exploited. UFC positions the success of Ronda Rousey as something for both athletes and fans to emulate, following the notion that 'if you can see her, you can be her.' Yet McClearen's research shows that Rousey's success is exceptional and only portrayed as typical, rendering opportunity a likely facade." -- Journal of Sport History
"McClearen urges scholars to move beyond dichotomous notions of visibility and to consider the cultural and material consequences of being seen. . . . Centering the well-being and lived experienced of female athletes, McClearen's Fighting Visibility provides a strong foundation on which to build a sustained critique of the relationship between media visibility and exploitation." -- Media Industries
"The book is a fascinating read. . . . McClearen has written a compelling history of women in the UFC, along with the trials they have faced." -- Sport in American History


Jennifer McClearen is an assistant professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin.