Lucy Davis ’26
Communication major, Human Relations and Work minor
Women’s Lacrosse
With alumni for parents, and aside from her disdain for New England’s bitter winters, it’s no surprise Lucy Davis ’26 chose the Hilltop as her undergraduate home. Formerly undecided, the Georgia native was sold on studying communication after taking a media writing course on campus. As a lacrosse player and avid podcast listener aspiring to work in public relations for a professional sports organization, Davis was compelled to channel her interests into constructive academic research. As an athlete herself, Davis was intrigued by gendered language usage in conversations with professional athletes on podcasts.
Davis combed through three episodes each of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy and Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights. She observed that although each show featured professional athletes, the interview styles, topics covered, and method of marketing varied drastically depending on the guest’s gender. Davis noticed juxtapositions between anything from tone to setting. Call Her Daddy guests are interviewed on a cozy set to seemingly promote more intimate, vulnerable discussions and New Heights is often conducted via Zoom call so guests can talk with the Kelce brothers from the comfort of their own home. Davis found that conversations with former and highly decorated female athletes primarily centered around romantic relationships and motherhood, while chats with male athletes who formerly played professional sports remained laser-focused on their athletic legacy.
Even the way episodes are titled drew red flags for Davis. Former artistic gymnast Aly Raisman’s feature on Call Her Daddy was titled “Thirty, Single & Thriving” and focused more on her lack of a partner than what she is known for: being an accomplished Olympic athlete. Further, Davis observed that running back Saquon Barkley wasn’t asked about having a child amidst his career at the caliber that former professional women’s soccer player Alex Morgan was. She also studied how Simone Biles’s withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics due to the twisties led to public scrutiny and being deemed “selfish” for prioritizing her mental health. Reflecting on her research, Davis encourages people to be mindful of their gendered language use and acknowledge implicit gender biases they carry always, not only in athletics.