Ramla Ali

• refugee from Somalia
• olympic boxer
• first woman to box in Saudi Arabia
• Flexing muscles in her photo- 'typically masculine pose- but shows her strength. Butler performativity
• natural bigger hair style- proud of her ethnicity, however could be argued hair down= more feminine and stereotypically attractive than tied back or covered up.
• the imbalance of power between men and women is still evident in the world of boxing, although 'everyone is equal' in the gym, Ramla mentions how she had to 'grab every opportunity' because there were 'few and far between' in female sport and the 'pay gap between men and women' remains 'so huge', that is why she has to rely on sponsorships from the likes of Nike and Cartier whose products she is modelling on her page
• The tomboy stereotype is seen by some critics as a threat to society because it undermines the binary opposition between men and women. However, the tone of the article suggests Ramla is proud of this identity because of her strong sense of independence.
• Gender is performative in the sense that it is maintained through this “stylized repetition of acts”. Ramla is fully aware she is resisting the dominant ideology and she is eager to write her own script: “I just want to be perfect – is that too much to ask?”
• Ramla also refers to the negative stereotype of the thuggish boxer, preferring to tell people she is an “athlete rather than a boxer just to be spared the judgement”. There is no doubt this inspirational woman will continue to shift expectations.
• the interview is a straightforward question and answer session, so Ramla's voice is unmediated through a narrator. It's her own words. This is an important choice for a magazine which aims to deliver 'warm and personal... conversations with fascinating women of the moment'
• the Q and A format allows for Ali's words to be authentically from herself without filtering- her narrative is not structured or reframed by the magazine, emphasising the importance of voice and authorship