Platform Visibility Without Sport Legitimacy: Comment Frames Around Ultimate on Chinese Social Media
Abstract
This article examines the presentation of Ultimate on Chinese social media through the visible comments on these platforms. Methodologically, this study is based on a qualitative content analysis of 180 visible top-level comments from 12 selected Douyin and WeChat Channels posts. The selected comments are treated as an observable public discourse corpus, not as representative evidence of broader Chinese public attitudes toward this sport. Among the collected comments, 63.3% contained stigma, mockery, or direct questioning of Ultimate as a sport. In contrast, 21.7% recognized the competitive value of the sport. The analysis found that mainstream athlete narratives generated more athletic recognition in visible comments. However, this type of exposure did not remove negative stereotypes. The findings suggest that visibility can help people notice the sport, but it can also connect the sport with existing jokes, football-field conflict, and the idea that it lacks real sport status. By comparing platform and content-type differences, the article shows why public-facing visibility should be treated as a field of interpretation rather than as automatic legitimacy.
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