One possible cause of the change is the remarkable progress in women’s sport in the wake of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, when U.S. women achieved gold medals in basketball, soccer, gymnastics, and softball. Since then, two new professional leagues were launched, and in 1999 the women’s soccer team won the World Cup. A second involves efforts of sport scholars and the general public to critique the mainstream media. These critical reviews often appear in the same media outlets that are known to marginalize and trivialize girls and women in sport. A final possible cause, and the one that seems the most plausible, involves the efforts by sport scholars and other educators to transmit to the next generation of decision-makers the vast body of knowledge generated by sport media research. With a proliferation of sport studies, sport management, and sport marketing degree programs in higher education, future sport professionals are being exposed to media research and responsible marketing strategies that provide alternative, empowering forms of representation. It is clear that decision-makers involved in the production of intercollegiate media guides are, at this point in time, leading the way.
While university-controlled sports media have begun treating women as serious athletes in their publications, the same does not appear to be true of other media outlets. Sports Illustrated seldom features a female athlete on the cover, and when it does, she is often featured as a heterosexy female, not as a serious athlete. One recent example is the 2005 summer double issue, which features Jenny Finch, Olympic gold medalist in fastpitch. She is posed holding what appears to be a Wiffle ball and plastic bat, scantily clad in a denim miniskirt and tank top. While this may seem an improvement over her soft-core porn image in a previous Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, it does not reflect the power and strength of her 70-mph pitching, which leaves some of the best men in baseball standing helpless at the plate. I have yet to see a male athlete trivialized in this way in a sport related magazine, nor would I encourage this type of portrayal.
Further evidence of differential media treatment may be seen in televised sports. A recently published study of sports news broadcasts on local (Los Angeles) and on national (ESPN) TV found that in 2004 women’s sports received 6.3 percent of the air time, compared to 91.4 percent for men’s sports.1 This indicated a 2.5 percent decrease from 1999. The investigators (one of whom is a respondent in this issue) also reported that, though there were examples of fair and respectful reporting, there continued to be examples of sexualization of women athletes.
Responsible reporting by the media means respecting the female athlete for her skills, valuing her athletic competence, and treating her as an athlete, not a “sex object” (in the seemingly dated yet sadly still relevant vernacular). The university-controlled sports media have made positive changes in the presentation of female athletes on their media guide covers.
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In recent years, they provided leadership and set a precedent for equitable and respectful representation of female athleticism. Publishing images of sportswomen accomplishing physical feats of power, agility, strength, and endurance is critical to ending sexism in sport and improving gender relations. More efforts need to be made to hold the popular media accountable for responsible and honorable reporting and representation. As fans and educators, we also have a responsibility. When we read about, listen to, or watch our favorite sports, it is our duty to raise our voices to ensure that the media treat girls and women in sport fairly and with respect for their bodies. We must continue to speak up by writing and calling on the editors and producers to increase and improve their coverage of girls and women in sports, in addition to boycotting their sponsors and advertisers. And as educators, it is our duty to continue researching and communicating the relationship between sport and gender order and to provide information and opportunities for critical reflection in our classrooms.
Professor Stimpson asked: “Is the female athlete who is both ‘strong’ and ‘sexy’ a self-empowered, self-willed new definition of beauty? Or, in spite of all her hard work has she been ultimately passive and exploited?” Stimpson suggests that both positions are plausible and that “changes in gender tend to combine change with its containment, which insures that evolution is neither easy nor revolutionary.” Yes, changes in gender are complex. As women’s opportunities in sports increased substantially (primarily with the help of AIAW and Title IX) they were also contained as the male-dominated NCAA gained control of women’s intercollegiate athletic programs. And as women have shown their power and excellence as athletes, they have also been exploited. Sexually suggestive and heterosexy images serve to contain women, creating a fundamental barrier to any significant change with respect to how our culture views the female athlete and her body. Atalantan distractions, such as the “enticement” of being a Sports Illustrated cover girl, have not only contained the female athlete; they have also served to contain women’s leadership in sport.
Whether the “apples” that distract modern-day Atalantas be as green as money or as gold as ancient Atalanta’s wedding band, they continue to be symbolic reminders of male hegemony in sport and society. The Atalanta syndrome continues. The healing involves radical measures in the organization and practice of sport, some of which have already been addressed. Individuals who value equity need also to advocate for all-inclusive language and a “no tolerance” stance for disrespectful comments to or from any athlete, administrator, or fan. This would necessitate new parenting, teaching, and coaching strategies that emphasize behaviors that are respectful of all human beings. Our work must also be toward transforming the masculinized management style of sport to one that takes into account women’s values and ideas and allows women reasonable access and accommodation to coaching and administrative positions. Finally, we must continue our efforts toward interdisciplinary work between sport scholars and feminist scholars from all disciplines. Sport is an important site where dominant ideas of gender are shared and nurtured. Feminist scholars of every discipline must attend to the culture created and fostered on playgrounds and playing fields.
- Margaret Carlisle Duncan and Michael Messner, “Gender in Televised Sports: News and Highlights Shows, 1989-2004.” (Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, 2005). [↩]
