Who+Said+Women's+Sport+is+a+Joke?

Name: Matthew McHugh Student Number: n8095566 Tutor: Michelle Newcomb

**" //WOMEN'S soccer is a joke. People walked across the street in order not to watch it in Adelaide last week. Women's cricket is not much better. Netball is OK, sometimes, when there is nothing else on. But women's basketball is not. Gymnastics? Jumped-up school sport. Women's tennis? Don't get me started. Women runners, jumpers, throwers, cyclists and swimmers do their best, but it is, by definition, second-best. Women's triathlon is a yawn. Women's golf is nothing more than a set of gimmicks. Women's AFL is embarrassing. //** **// If women insist on playing sport at all, it should be beach volleyball //** **." Greg Baum, 2006. **

**Cultural Artefact ** media type="youtube" key="y8uqqk2dlXQ" height="315" width="420" align="center"

The video above is a compilation of clips of female beach volleyball players competing at various events around the world. It presents a cross section of many different women from numerous countries all competing in the sport. There is however one tiny problem with the film. While the timer may say that the video runs for a total 3 minutes and 36 seconds, the actual amount of time that features women playing volleyball is 36 seconds, the rest is spent on close ups of females behinds as they bend over ready to receive the serve from the other team. This video is just one more rung in the chauvinistic belt of the male dominated society that believes men should play sport for sport, and women should play sport to be sexy. While this sex appeal approach may have granted this video over 600, 000 views it does nothing to raise the profile of the athletes or the sport in general, which is what these women and all women involved in international sport deserve.

Public Health Issue The quote stated at the start of this article has no ulterior motives, there are no double meanings written between the lines. It means what it says; women's sport is a joke. This is an alarming trend set by today's media and is actually showing signs of effecting female levels of participation in sport. Take this article from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. According to it, men have incrementally more numbers in terms of participation in organised sports, coaching, refereeing and committee memberships. The only area in which females have acquired greater numbers are scorers or timekeepers and 'other' non-playing roles (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010). Could this negative media coverage be forcing females into mere time keeping roles?q

Now in saying this there has been progress made in the equality of gender throughout the world of sport. The National Federation of State High School Association states that during their most recent survey female high school students that participated in sport increased by 600% between 19971-78 (Massengale, 2010). Not only that take Title IX for example. Enacted as part of the Education Amendments in1972, this law prohibits all forms of sexual discrimination, specifically high schools and colleges (National, 2011). Now while this law says it protects all students from any form of sexual discrimination it has been more broadly adopted to accompany high school and college sports, such the NCAA. This however has not stopped discrimination and inequity of media coverage across sports. The artefact pictured above symbolises how mankind is set in his ways and provides a direct insight into the alienation of females as true 'sportsmen' and instead portrays them as sex objects and advertising tools.

Literature Review As it currently stands there is an abundance of literature that looks at females as mere sex objects and promotional tools. There is however only a handful of studies that actually look at why this is and why females are given a back seat in the sporting world. One such study conducted by Hebl in 2004 has actually found that the price tag of female sport, specifically female basketball in the NCAA, is significantly lower than that of the males. Interestingly this study has found that gender is the sole indicator of ticket price, not current form or statistics. All in all a total of 308 NCAA Division 1 programs participated. The results show that on average men's basketball games cost US$9.07 while women's tickets only cost US$4.76, that is a difference of almost 100% (Hebl, 2004). Also investigated by Hebl was a second study which involved participants listening to a section of a fictitious game rewritten to sound as if the Smithville Lady Bearcats were playing. This was based off of a 2002 play-off game. An anonymous game caller was recruited to redo the commentary and switch the transcript (e.g. he shoots) with that of the female players names. After the audio clip participants also made relative evaluations about basketball teams by answering the following questions. (Note that all participants viewed a webpage containing stats and figures of the Smithville Bearcats and Lady Bearcats). How do you think the Bearcats compare to the Lady Bearcats overall? How do you think the Bearcats compare to the Lady Bearcats in ability? How do you think the Bearcats compare to the Lady Bearcats in filling the team stadium? The results of this survey tell us that when an individual is given evidence of a women's ability their absolute rating (overall opinion about the team) were not influenced by the men’s relative ticket price but the relative ticket price does influence the relative rating of the women's teams. In other words when a women's basketball match has a lower ticket price than that of the males, their relative rating is lower. This is not surprising considering the evidence. There was however one anomaly. When female ticket prices were raised higher than the males the fans or participants considered both men's and women's teams to be equivalent in ability and fan support. So is the simple solution to jack up ticket prices of female events to raise a viewer’s absolute rating of a team? Well no but it may level out the playing field slightly.

Female involvement and recognition within the sporting world is at an all time high (Pearson, 2001). This is in no part thanks to Title IX (Pearson, 2001) and yet, one form of media that can immortalize the athletes of today seems to have forgotten about our sportswomen. Pearson conducted a study to discover that between 1930 and 1999 a grand total of 41 sports feature films used a female in the lead role (Pearson, 2001). A failure by the film industry if there ever was one. Perhaps if these sporting heroines took the approach of the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) and made it compulsory to showcase 'sex appeal', Hollywood might give these movies the green light.

Eroticised imagery of women has always been a ploy to used by promoters to attract more attention to any given event, movie or sport. Take this statement from Benjamin Rader. He proclaimed the the Dallas Cowboys were the world leaders at exploiting sex through the Cowboy's cheer girls. He used this description to accentuate what he meant. 'Flaunting heaving, skimply covered breasts and short shorts, which exposed some of the curvature of their posture (Brooks, 2001).' Just over a decade ago the FIVB decreed that on an international level all female athletes must wear bikinis as their official uniforms. The fact that the uniforms themselves changed is not a big deal. Having a two piece swimsuit increases range of movement and prevents sand from trapping which can be a result of wearing a shirt or singlet. The real issue is the media's exploitation of the women and the artefact presented is a prime example. While it may be random strips of film that has been clipped together, this footage has come from actually television broad casts. The final nail in the coffin was the FIVB's reasoning for changing the uniforms. According to famous player Gabrielle Reece Hamilton, "This is a fantasy for people who say, `I love the beach, I love the summer, I love sandy people.' Malibu Barbie stuff and they're trying to play off that. The bottom line is, sex sells" (Brooks, 2001). According to this statement the FIVB had no intention of making the women perform better, they just wanted more viewers to the sport and the women were just the means to an end. These trends will continue as media outlets advance in technology and provide newer, more provocative imagery to the masses, further devaluing the female athletes worth as a sportsman.

Cultural and Social Analysis The lack of media coverage of women's sport is an enormous problem for not only the females involved but for the sports industry in general (Women's, 2011). In fact the only time females seem to get much airtime at all is if the sport can produce enough sex appeal to men; take the LFL or the Lingerie Football League. MTV broadcasts 1 match of the LFL every Friday night between August the 26th and February the 5th (Lingerie, 2011). That is a total of 28 matches. What is even more amazing is that while the LFL has a total of 28 rounds of game play, the NFL, arguably America's biggest sport only has a total of 17 (NFL, 2011). That is irrefutable proof that that these women are only being used as sex objects to attract more viewers to a different network. This however doesn't solve the problem of viewers actually tuning in to watch women's sport. According to actual figures released by the NFL the average amount of viewers that tune in to watch a Thursday night game of football is 5.5 million people, far eclipsing any numbers Lingerie Football could hope to achieve. If this blatantly misogynistic initiative MTV cooked up cannot hope to compete with the real NFL, why parade women around in bikinis? Clearly sex isn't selling this sport.

The awareness of gender equality in sport is of incredible importance because female’s participating in sport is of the utmost importance for good health. Not only this, in addition to the benefits of participating in sports, women's increased involvement can promote positive development in sport by providing alternative norms, values, attitudes, knowledge, capabilities and experiences (Women, 2007). If these sorts of changes can be made in the way that the United Nations has envisioned, society could be looking at a much different future. Steps have already been taken in the right direction. Take the implementation of Title IX, it is an actual law in the United States which prevents any form of gender discrimination in the educational environment, including sport. Grand Slam tennis tournaments have also taken steps to gender equality. Since 2006 both men and women have been receiving the exact same payout for winning a tournament (Wimbledon, 2011).

There is simply no reason why women should continue to be sexually discriminated in sport, whether this is lack of media coverage or having to dress down just to get a few more viewers. Surely in a world where same sex marriage is allowed in countries such as Belgium, Spain, Canada, Portugal and most recently Argentina (A Catholic state until 1994) there is enough room to afford women and girls of all ages the right to equal sporting opportunity without having to remove half of their clothes (Fastenberg, 2010). If this can truly be done, 50/50 coverage of all female sports with no ridiculous laws such as compulsory uniforms that only incorporate underwear, it could truly be considered one of mankind's greatest achievements.

Analysis of the Artefact The video clip above is a series of segments taken from actual television coverage's and represents everything that is wrong with the media and the uphill battle women face as the strive for recognition in the sporting world. Time and time again women's behinds are the focus of the coverage, it roughly takes up 85% of the entire video. The fact that this is one of the first clips available when a person searches 'beach volleyball' on youtube is an alarming reminder that the trend of eroticising women is here to stay unless something is done. Parading women around in revealing, two piece swim suits will do nothing to raise the profile of the sport, it will merely induce and objectified appraisal (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). The video also addresses just how poor a marketing strategy women playing in bikinis actually is. While watching the video if close attention is paid, viewers will note that very few people actually turn out to watch these matches, which begs the question of how much can sex actually sell?

After extensively researching discrimination against women in sport for not only this project but also for the second piece of assessment it is abundantly clear just how extensive this problem is. While many worthwhile initiatives have been established so as to try and reduce this problem, it is simply not enough. More needs to be done and it has to come from the top down, starting with broadcast networks making a conscious and deliberate effort to try and get to the magic 50/50 split of media coverage. The UN believes that if even a minor increase can be achieved female role models will become more frequent and sporting norms will constantly be pushed, creating a snowball effect that will eventually push for the goal that all females’ sportswomen want (Women, 2007).

Personally I believe that my research skills have increased dramatically over the course of the term and specifically in this assignment. It has allowed me to find the right sources to get my point across. I also believe that I have garnered a new understanding just how enormous the plight of the young female athlete can. I now understand that it can be a daunting process to try to make it in a man’s world and also the pressures to dress down and sexualise one’s self because cultural norms suggest that is how popularity is gained. Through the wiki and throughout the term I believe that the study of public health issues, especially ones that directly affect one of my greatest passions, have made me a better researcher, better writer and better student.

Responses Title: Makes alot of sense Comment: Well done mate, you clearly know what you are talking about. You outlined the gap in knowledge that medical providers have when it comes to Australia's multicultural population, spot on. I also love the fact that you have put in realistic goals and targets that health professionals can easily achieve. All in all this is a great piece and ridiculously informative. Great job! Link: []

Title: Everything was 100% relevant

Comment: That artefact was an absolute gem and gets across such a strong and provocative message and really does set such a high standard across the entire wiki. The quotes at the top of the article also make you want to read on and on and find out exactly what you discussed. In the literature review I love the statistics that you have thrown out, they are so confronting and are really an eye opener into just how IN-equitable the playing field is. As a final note I love the amount of effort you have put in to finding those resources they are all extremely relevent to your topic and all appear to be top notch in terms of quality. Take your hat off and take a bow, you deserve it.

Link: []

References Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010). //Involvement in organised sport and physical activity, Australia, April 2010//. Retrieved from []

Brooks, C, M. (2001). Using sex appeal as a sport promotion strategy. //Women in sport &physical activity journal. 10//(1). Retrieved from []

Daniels, E., & Wartena, H. (2011). Athlete or sex symbol: What boys think of media representations of female athletes. Sex Roles, 65(7/8), 566-579. doi:10.1007/s11199-011-9959-7

Fastenberg, D. (2010, July 22). International gay marriage. //Time World//. Retrieved from []

Hebl, M, R., Giuliano, T, A., King, E, B., Knight, J, L., Shapiro, J, R., Skorinko, J, L., & Wig, A. (2004). //Paying the way: The ticket to gender equality in sports. 16//(3), 227-235. Retrieved from []

Lingerie Football League. (2011). 2011/2012 schedule. Retrieved from []

Massengale, D. (2010). Women leaders in sport: Where's the gender equity? //Journal of physical education, recreation & dance. 81//(4). 6-8. Retrieved from []

National coalition for women and girls in education. (2011). //Title IX and gender equity responsibilities of state education agencies//. Retrieved from []

NFL. (2011). 2011 NFL schedule. Retrieved from []

Pearson, D, W. (2001). //The depiction and characterization of women in sports films. 103.// Retrieved from []

Wimbledon. (2011). Prize money at Wimbledon (1968-2011). Retrieved from []

Women's Sport and the Media. (2011). Australian womensport & recreation association. Retrieved from []

Women 2000 and beyond. (2007). Women, gender equality and sport. Retrieved from []