Women In Michael Desbordes's 'Endorsement By Looks'

During the last decade, women have experienced a significant advance in matters of equal rights. Their roles in society have diversified; challenging chauvinistic ideologies and perspectives. However, there are specific areas where male seem to have the predominant role and women are stuck. According to Michael Desbordes in the article “Endorsement by ‘Looks’”, American society has experienced positive changes regarding gender equality in sports, but women still face issues when it comes to sponsorships, because there are gender biases that negatively affect their image as professional athletes. Moreover, the factors that strongly influence sponsors to prefer men athletes over women have direct relationship with American society’s attitudes.

It is more common to see men’s football or baseball games on TV rather than seeing women’s games. In fact, Desbordes explains, “in the world’s major sports such as soccer, NFL, basketball, baseball, gulf, rugby and cricket, it is men’s code that has mass exposure and indeed un many cases there are no professional leagues for women,” which is a proof that American society, in general, does not fully appreciate female athletes and underestimate their capacity (1). Also, spectatorship is more expected in male games rather than in women ones and therefore gains are expected to be higher for business when they sponsor men athletes. In “Women See Lack of Respect, Parity in Sports Coverage” Gibbons explains that the “lack of strength” as well as the prejudice of female athletes’ poor performance contribute to the idea that their events are not worthy (3). Nevertheless, women can be as capable as men of achieving great results in their sports. One of the examples are the Williams sisters, both professional tennis players who have showed an excellent condition and technique at this sport rising the standards for other players. Certainly, the belief of men superiority at sports persists in American society and it is discouraging prospective female

Indeed, beauty standards and Western stereotypes over women guarantee certain benefits proving that there are still gender biases in sports. Moreover, using body image to promote an athlete instead of their potential is a demonstration of how society still needs to work on recognizing women as equal athletes with the same capacities. Nevertheless it is important to acknowledge that similar issues occur among men, for instance, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham have participated in many commercials due to their physical appearance, demonstrating that beauty has become an important factor in the sports’ industry. However, the difference resides that while in men beauty is often seen as a plus, it is almost a requirement for