Modern media, including new media mediums, consistently prefer to showcase only one highly specific vision of athletic women. I encourage everyone to take a look at this issue. Mostly, the emotions of the primarily male-dominated world of sports and sports media significantly contribute to the influence these decisions. That’s right. Males make most of the decisions at the corporate level. The image below fits nicely at how “they” want to know the female athlete.
It seems that the woman athlete must be a dedicated competitor, young and attractive. Also worth mentioning is that older, or less stereotypically “attractive” female athletes tend to receive little media attention at all. Further, any athlete not dedicated to their sport would similarly not receive any attention. At the same time, the woman’s youthful eagerness must be conditioned by maturity and composure, or else she’ll be labeled a babe-in-arms, never mind that on the other end, talented and extraordinarily athletic women are being under-advertised because companies prefer to use images of teenage girls rather than mature women.
When you examine more closely, the female athlete’s dedication to sports must be moderated by extreme ladylike character traits. God forbid she is seen as cutthroat, over-aggressive, hostile, or butch-like. The woman athlete, as preferred by modern media, is effectively an attractive, highly feminized young woman with a talent for her sport. Those women who are in sexually-energized sports gain more attraction and attention by males.
I’ve been told that modern media selects the showcasing of female athletes as women first, and athletes second. This is true. While male athletes are almost always filmed and photographed in ways that augment their physical strengths, female athletes are most frequently filmed or photographed wearing swimsuits, in their kitchens or homes, or with their families. Male athletes are also frequently shown lounging comfortably in sports jackets or suits, advertising such merchandise as cell phones, cologne, or cars. Most ads I’ve seen from female athletes appear to suggest that something else is being offered.
Here is an interesting video for you to watch on this issue:
You decide. Thoughts?
October 26, 2009 at 12:52 pm |
Very interesting. The assumption of what academics call heteronormativity (the idea that being heterosexual, and adhering to accepted gender roles such as women trying to look pretty) is a big part of this, as the video tells us.
Who are the major viewers of women’s sports? I am not a sports watcher at all myself but I would assume it’s more women than men, both heterosexual and not.
Lesbians as a group do not make up a big market as far as advertisers are concerned, yet gay people are known for having more disposable income (though as gay marriage and adoption becomes more common this difference may be reduced). Why isn’t this taken into account more?
October 28, 2009 at 10:16 pm |
I would guess lesbians (or the gay community in general) aren’t targeted because then it would require lesbians in sports to be recognized. And the men in the corporate sports offices, sports media and marketers and running colleges don’t want to admit women might not (GASP!) like men. To ensure heteronormativity, lesbians can’t be targeted because they would be mean its OK to be gay.
Maybe some women can drop their pompoms on the sideline and play sports (as long as a few are left to cheer on the boys), but they also have to be able to look good in a dress and, most importantly, they can’t be better than a man. After all, the sexes will be all confused! Men need to be the strong ones who take charge, while women look pretty and root them on.