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How media contructs our understanding of gender
How has the media changed people's attitudes towards women
How media contructs our understanding of gender
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Everyone has seen female athletes on TV, magazines, and the internet. Do you know these women from their contribution to the world of sports or because of how sexy they look posing nearly nude on the newest edition of Sports Illustrated? Many of the female athlete people know and love go throughout their lives being sexualized and marginalized. This is because the media use these athletes as sexual object to get the attention of society. The media does this so often to female athletes that some people do not even realize that is going on. Female athletes being sexualized and marginalized not only affects how the athletes perceive themselves but also how society perceives them. People often notice this happening when female athletes do it to themselves and find it confusing. In the video that was assigned for us to watch, Does Sex Overshadow Women’s Sports, the main topic at hand was the Women’s Columbian Biker team. The reason they were doing a report about this team was because the uniform of the team seemed to be a bit dicey. This was because the lower abdominal and pelvic region of the …show more content…
If someone were to flip through a magazine of Sports Illustrated they would find at least one example of female athletes being sexualized. Kim and Sage (2014), did report comparing the way female athletes and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models are depicted in the magazine. In this study they found that female athletes are often posing similarly to that of the models and that the photographers focused more on the body areas that show of sexuality. Sports Illustrated doing this builds up a stereotypical portrayal of female bodies in their magazines. Kids seeing this at a young age can help shape behavioral norms and build up false expectations female beauty. Sports Illustrated is also showing an example of social control by making these females conform to these false
When we think of "professional athletes," the names that come to our minds are players such as Kurt Warner, Andre Agassi, Mark McGwire, Michael Jordan, Brett Hull, and Steve Austin to name a few. These male athletes are very popular in the professional sports world. But what about Dot Richardson, Rebecca Lobo, Sheryl Swoopes, Mia Hamm, and Cammi Granato to name a few more? These are female professional athletes that some might recognize, but their names are not as popular as the men's names. Their names may sound unfamiliar to most of us because women's professional sports are not recognized as much as men's. However, thanks to the passing of the 1972 Education Amendment to the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, women are participating more than ever in the sports world and funding has been increasing. Title IX states that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
“The practice of physical education and sport is a fundamental right for all.” (UNESCO) Gender equality in sports is still lacking even after title IX. People seem to only care about males, when it comes to sports. Women have accomplished just as much, achievements or more in sports, but men still seem to get all of the attention. Women should receive equal treatments in sports, because attention increases womens self esteem, they get no media attention or scholarship, and finally it infringes on Title IX.
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a Man can play, with equal skill, if not better.
Throughout history, women have had to struggle for equality in all elements of our society, but no where have they had a more difficult time than in the area of athletics. Sports is a right of passage that has always been grafted to boys and men. The time has come for our society to accept women athletes and give them the attention they deserve.
It has taken many years for women to gain a semblance of equality in sports. Throughout history, women have been both excluded from playing sports and discriminated against in sports. Men’s sports have always dominated the college athletic field, but women were finally given a fighting chance after Title IX was passed. Title IX, among other things, requires scholarships to be equally proportioned between men and women’s sports. Although this was a huge gain for women, gender inequality still exists in sports today. An example of this persisting inequality can be seen when looking at men’s baseball and women’s softball. In college, baseball and softball are both major NCAA sports. It is widely accepted throughout today’s society that baseball is a man’s sport, and softball is a woman’s sport. Very few people question why the two sexes are separated into two different sports, or wonder why women play softball instead of baseball. Fewer people know that women have been essentially excluded from playing baseball for a long time. This paper will focus on why softball has not changed the way women’s basketball has, why women continue to play softball, the possibilities and dynamics of women playing baseball with and without men, and the most discriminating aspect of women being banned from playing professional baseball.
One Generation Later, by Huffman, S. Tuggle., C & Rosengard, D.S, explores the relevant discrepancies in media coverage. The authors assert that more boys than girls indulge in sports activities in school. Studies have examined the impact of Title IX on media coverage given to female athletes as opposed to male athletes to determine if there has been a shift away from negative social stereotypes that are traditionally associated with women’s sports participation toward a more socially accepting view of the female athlete.
As the article advances and the discussion gets broadens, Hanes shifts to the thought that Disney is not the only one who is generating the issue. The author states that it is also the way females are portrayed in general on TV. It is logical to think that toddlers act out what they observe around them, and that those habits learned will develop as they do, or at least that is what Hanes believes. The author attempts to reason by describing that little girls who grow up watching such movies and TV shows are most likely drop out of a sport because of the believe their bodies do not look good playing the sport ( Hanes 3). “ Girls see cheerleaders ( with increasingly sexualized routines ) in TV far more than they see female basketball players or other athletes” ( Hanes 4). The author uses logos when discussing this to convince the reader that TV really does send a misleading message. Hanes argues that it all starts with a seed that is planted in a toddler 's eyes when she was younger. Hanes continues to say that the only way to stop this , is to completely block out Disney movies and TV shows that contain such content like this ( Hanes 3
Within todays sporting community, certain aspects of sport and its practices promote and construct ideas that sport in general is a male dominated. Sports media often provides an unequal representation of genders. Women athletes are regularly perceived as mediocre in comparison to their male equivalents (Lenskyj, 1998). Achievement in sport is generally established through displays of strength, speed and endurance, men usually set the standards in these areas, consequently woman rarely reach the level set by top male athletes. Due to this, the media significantly shows bias towards male sports while we are ill-informed about the achievements in the female sporting community. On the occasion that a female athlete does make some form of an appearance in the media, images and videos used will usually portray the female in sexually objectified ways (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). This depiction of female athletes can cause males to take focus solely on the sexual assets of the athlete in preference to to their sporting abilities (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). Sexualisation of sportswoman in the media is a prevalent issue in today’s society, it can cause physical, social and mental problems among women of all ages (Lenskyj, 1998).
A longitudinal study was conducted on this trend called “Changes in Sport and Physical Activity Participated for Adolescent Females” by Rochelle M Eime et., it concluded, “There was a clear trend over time of decreases in competitive sport, and more specifically club sports participation” (2). Also, that “Female adolescents are consistently reported as being less physically active than their male peers” (5). These statements prove that girls are losing interest in sports as they age, but why are they losing interest? They lose interest in competitive sports for many reasons and they vary between each girl. Hanes claims the reason is a result of sexualized sports media by explaining, “Star female athletes regularly pose naked or semi-naked for men’s magazines; girls see cheerleaders (with increasingly sexualized routines) on TV far more than female basketball players or other athletes” (511). This is why young girls struggle with enjoying sports as they age, they are continuously told their bodies aren’t good or sexy enough. Girls at this point are already struggling with their body image, so when a role model for their sport of choice is looking sexy and perfect in a magazine it makes them question whether or not they should look like that too. This is a result of young girls constantly comparing themselves to those they look up
Most people watch some form of sports, whether it be the Olympics or the highlights on ESPN. The NBA and NHL playoffs are underway and theyit seems to be the only news on ESPN. There is almost no coverage of the WNBA playoffs or any female athletics. Tennis isone of the only big sports on ESPN for women. While during the Olympics the coverage seems to be non-stop and close to equal. Women’s participation in sport is at an all-time high and has almost become equal with men’s, however,. sSports media does notfails to show this equality and skews the way we look at these athletes. Through the disciplines of sociology and gender studies, it can be seen that despite the many gains of women in sports since the enactment of Title IX, “traditional” notions of masculinity and femininity still dominate media coverage of males and females in sports, which is observed in Olympic programming and sports news broadcasts.
Female athlete coverage in the media is a complication due to far less coverage than male athletes receive. Statistics show that females already receive less than ten percent of coverage, although this is much more than they received just a short time ago. Shauna Kavanagh said in an article that when she was younger, female sports were never on TV. “All of my sporting heroes were males,” she said. Although strides have been made for female athlete’s, there is still a long ways to go. Kavanagh secondly went on to express that she feels the press does not cover woman athletics imperfectly; they simply don’t publicize them enough. People are still much more interested in ma...
Even though progress was made in the appreciation of women’s sport and the crowds women’s sports brought In which mean a rise in ticket sells for women’s sport, but the media coverage is still treating women sports as if we were still in the
It seems that the media’s portrayal of women has negatively affected the body image of The Wykeham Collegiate senior school girls. The media has a negative effect on the youth of today, primarily amongst the female population when it comes to how young girls and women regard their bodies.
Whether its baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or tennis, sports is seen all over the world as a representation of one’s pride for their city, country, and even continent. Sports is something that is valued world-wide which has the ability to bring communities together and create different meanings, beliefs and practices between individuals. Although many people may perceive sports to have a significant meaning within our lives, it can also have the ability to separate people through gender inequalities which can also be represented negatively throughout the media. This essay will attempt to prove how gender is constructed in the sports culture while focusing on female athletes and their acceptance in today’s society.
Women in Sports Challenges appear to be part of the human experience. In the course of history, very little has come easily. The progress that women have made in sport in the United States over the course of the last 100 years seems remarkable for the amount achieved in so little time. In relation to the other advances made in this century, including men's sport, that achievement dims. While women have made great advances, they haven't, in comparison, come that far.