Sexism In Olympic Games

It is no stretch to say that the eyes of the world are on the Olympics. After all, the highly-anticipated event brings both world-renowned athletes and millions of adoring fans to the globally televised event. So, to propose that the actions of Olympic athletes are closely watched and reflective of the state of the sports-world is not far-fetched. Thus, the scandals and coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games, especially Ryan Lochte, exhibit the level of male privilege and sexism that is still prevalent in professional sports.

To begin, one inherently sexist facet of the 2016 coverage of the Olympic Games was the disproportionate portrayal of female competitor’s success compared to their male counterparts. One clear example is Katie Ledecky, who won a gold medal and broke the world record for women’s 800-meter freestyle (Crockman, 2016). Nevertheless, because Michael Phelps took home a silver medal “she had to ride on the coattails of Phelps’ success to make a headline” (Crockman, 2016). The fact that Ledecky did not make headlines after winning a gold and smashing a world record to pieces does not merit a headline in a newspaper is sampling appalling. However, the gender bias does not end there, as fellow Olympic athlete Ryan Lochte commented "She swims like a guy. Her times are becoming good for a guy" (Trombadore, 2016). By making such a statement not only is Lochte implying that men are intrinsically superior to women in the realm of

Due to the combination of the unequal portrayal of female athlete’s success and disproportionate punishment female athletes face for misdemeanors compared to their male colleagues, it is painfully clear that male privilege remains an issue in modern sports coverage. One thing is clear, if the world does not change its misogynistic trend in modern sports coverage, then the next Olympics the world will surely bring home the gold in