Metaphors of Hegemonic Masculinity – Women’s Understanding of Sport Metaphors in Political Discourse

Within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff and Johnson 1980) and Critical Discourse Analysis (van Dijk 1993, Wodak 2006) we analyse in this paper the results of a survey conducted among 100 women and 20 men in order to establish the level of their understanding of sport metaphors in political discourse. The results indicate that sport metaphors may pose a serious barrier to women’s understanding of political life and may discourage women’s political participation.