Sex+Sells+-+Sport+Doesn't

Name: Rachel Hunt

Student Number: n8104522

Tutor: Katie Page

Tutorial: Friday 10am - 11am

=Do women have to sell themselves just to get their sport noticed? =

[|Anna Rawson]

//“Sport, especially at the elite level, play an integral role in the assemblage and projection of the engendered and sexualizes postmodern bodies” (Stevenson, 2002) // Artefact Analysis

When it comes to sport and what people want to watch, generally the audiences are male dominated and interested in only the typical ‘male’ sports, like football, soccer, cricket and basketball. But when it comes to watching women’s sports, no one is interested. As of recently the only way for women to have their sport publicised is to add sexual images towards it. Just like the picture shown above.  This picture is of an Australian golfer, Anna Rawson who is posed in a rather questionable position. She is dressed in all white, with a short skirt that is being ‘blown-up’ by the ‘wind’ as she is bending over to put a gold ball on the tee. She is dressed in white high heels, which is another symbol men associate with sex. Anna has her blonde hair down and is glancing up at the camera with a provocative look on her face. This media artefact demonstrates just how the media sees and represents female athletes in the public eye. Even though women have made consistent and significant contributions towards Australian sport throughout all levels, their achievements receive little to no media coverage. However, when female sport is presented in the mainstream media critical research has shown that the sporting involvement to be marginalized and trivialized through distorted visual images and language (Lenskyj, 1998).

Public Health Issue

The origins of sport have always been in a patriarchal structure, whereby it was established as a male institution and thus has men dominating the scene for a long time (Wanneberg, 2011). However, over the years, women have shown more and more interest in sport through participation, managing roles and representative titles (Lenskyj, 1998). While men’s sports are shown regularly throughout all media outlets, female sporting participation is continuously underrepresented in the media, despite such involvement. In 2010, the Australian Sorts Commission released new research in its report, ‘//Towards a Level Playing Field: sport and gender in Australian media’.// This report found how little coverage was given to women’s sport and female athletes. Women in sport made up just nine percent of all sports coverage’s in Australian television news and current affairs. This coverage was generally provided if the female athlete or sporting team won, whereas male athletes received coverage regardless of their successes. The report also found that gender stereotyping of females in the media and press were of minimal levels, with reports focusing on their performance and results rather than looks or sexuality. Why is it then that female athletes from all over the world are choosing more and more to provide the media with sexualized images of themselves to promote their particular sport or to receive publicity?

In most societies the achievements of sport are seen through speed, strength and endurance, while flexibility, balance and grace take second place. This places men at an advantage and provides a major force in the social construction of hegemonic masculinity. Female bodies and their performances serve as a negative reference point in comparison, and are often used to ridicule low achieving or non-conforming males, (e.g. ‘You throw like a girl’) (Lenskyj, 1998). Not only does this cause females to feel inadequate in the sporting field but it also adds even more pressure to body image and the ‘ideal’ body type. For women, especially the youth of society, a sense of physicality and strength can be quiet empowering and help give pleasure in the control over their body (Garret, 2004). This emphasis on the gender differences between males and females as well as the sexualisation of female athletes in the media consolidate the male/female relationship as superior/inferior, dominator/dominated and active/passive (Lenskyj, 1998).

Open any sporting magazine and this sexualisation will be presented. Men are portrayed in ‘action-shots’ or in a masculine pose while women tend to be shown in submissive, sexualized poses, having the camera focusing on areas of the chest and crotch regions (Lenskyj, 1998), not actually showing their sporting abilities or potentials. Sport and the media are two of the most powerful influences that affect how the society runs. They intertwine into how the public acts, thinks and feels. These social inequalities need to be addressed to ensure an equal and fair playing field is provided for both men and women in the media.

Literature Review

Women’s participation and achievements in sport have increased significantly over the years, winning gold medals at the Olympics and commonwealth games, and gaining world titles for their particular sport. However, current research has shown a number of issues arising within women’s sport. Even with such improvements since the 1970’s, gender inequality within sport has continued to remain a significant issue, with the media playing the main role. While the Australian Sports Commission (2003) states that there has been very little change in the participation of women’s and girls’ sports over the past 10 years, women remain under represented at all levels of sport to this day. There is strong societal support present for sport participation, as is it believed to teach proper values such as self discipline, sportsmanship, and an appreciation for hard work, competition and goal attainment (Frey, 1991). At the very centre of sport lies the bodies and physical differences of the athletes. This is due to the fact that sport is a system which systematically reveals differences and thus establishes ranking based on individuals performance (Pfister, 2010). However, research has shown that girls and women tend to move away from certain physical activity at various stages of their life (Garrett, 2004). Garrett (2004) describes how cultural forces control bodies, and in turn define them by their physical attributes. With the pressure of ‘thin’ being beautiful and ‘fat’ being ugly and weak, the desire for thinness and the ‘ideal’ body has become an extremely dangerous task. With many women experiencing stress, anxiety, depression and guilt from the pressure to conform to the cultural ideals that the media has presented (Garrett, 2004).

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Frey (1991) discovered several myths that were thought to give reason to the lack of female sport participation. Sport was thought to be harmful to the female reproductive systems and was a threat to child bearing. Human and economic resources would be wasted on the females as their performance levels were significantly lower than males, and that sport was not important for the social development of women as the experiences of such values as achievement, aggressiveness and competition were irrelevant. When a study was found compiling female athletes and non-athletes from countries the United States of America, Australia and India, showed that women athletes had a better self image, body images and better outlook on life in comparison to the non-athletes (Frey, 1991).

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Research has demonstrated that in the sports and the associated images of sporting bodies are being routinely packaged throughout the media for the consumption of local and international audiences as extremely gendered (Stevenson, 2002). It has been found that men are presented through such ways that emphasize strength and competence, while female athletes are portrayed on their hetero-sexual attractiveness (Lenskyj, 1998). For males, sport is an area that spectators and/or players are able to affirm their identity and status as heterosexual males and with that show off their physical, symbolic and economic dominance over women (Stevenson, 2002). The media has found it rather difficult dealing with sporting women who are challenging the hegemonic ideas of femininity. To reassure the audiences of female athletes femininity such credentials like references to boyfriends, husbands and children are played on air (Stevenson, 2002).

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Australia is a sports loving nation and has a rich history of sport in which women have made significant contributions. Title IX has been a key element for women in the institutional destabilization of masculine privileges in the United States (Dworkin & Messner, 2002). Since it was passed in 1972 (Sherman, 2001), high school sports participation for girls increased from 294,015 in 1972 to 2,784,154 in 2001. This increase then allowed funding to provide the creation of Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women’s Professional Football League (WPFL), not to mention the growth and success in female Olympic participation (Dworkin & Messner, 2002). The minister of Sport for Australia, Kate Ellis discussed the research revealed in the study, //Towards an Equal Playing Field,// and said, “Women have a vital role to play in the development of sport in Australia, and yet we still see women facing barriers to participation in sport across their lifetime and an unwarranted lack of profile when it comes to high end sport. The Australian Government will continue to focus on this important issue until the media coverage of women’s sport is on a level playing field with men”.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 24px; text-align: center;">Cultural and Social Analysis

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Stevenson (2002) has shown through literature that there has been considerable discussion on the importance of sexuality and the promotion of women’s sport. Frey (1998) briefly discussed how feminist social theorists asserted that sport was on e of many social systems which were dominated by the patriarchal value of systems and domineering patterns. Stevenson (2002) supported this statement with his research having shown that some sociologists of sport had argued over the years that if by defining sport as a ‘social institution’ then refers this arena to be of male dominance of females. This control, in turn also extends to the controlling of female bodies. Many have claimed that for the women who breach the ‘normal’ boundaries of sport femininity and appear over masculine or ‘too’ goof are then subjected to subtle forms of discipline that are enforced to make sure that the bodies and sport of women do not threaten the superiority of men. The media’s claim to this is that they are controlling the hegemonic notions of the ideal non-threatening female athlete (Stevenson, 2002).

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Garrett (2004) refers to a number of social theorists in his article that present a strong argument towards the understanding of the social body and sport. She describes Bourdieu’s (1990) theory on the body and how he views the body as a physical capital and management, meaning acts of hard labour turn bodies into social identified that influence the development of ‘progressive physicality’s’ for women and young girls. A theorist by the name of McDermott (1996) introduced the term ‘physicality’ to assist in the understanding of how women and young girls experience their bodies through physical activity. With a better understanding of women’s thought and feelings towards the matter of sport and its stereotypes, society will be able to help improve this inequality. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 24px; text-align: center;">Analysis of the Cultural Artefact

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The media has continuously sexualized female sports women throughout the years and I believe this particular artefact represents the issue quiet well. After much analysis and reflection, this assignment has enabled me to have a further understanding of the issues that are present in today’s media. The sexualisation of women through overexposed sexualized images, the inequalities that female athletes face with fair play and media attention, and gender stereotypes have been just a few issues that were analysed.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The media is a highly influential tool. Women and young girls fall prey to the restricted body images that are presented on the television every day. Garrett (2004) highlights that young women can often feel alienated from their bodies and their physical selves. The hurdles that women are faced with each day from the media can impact significantly on their sense of self, social behaviour and engagement in physical activity. Research has clearly indicated the significance of positive reinforcement and teaching of the importance of physical activity and sport involvement. That means having all areas of sport representation be of a positive and equal diversity amongst the sexes. The future of sport should point towards both men and women being allowed an equal right to compete in all sports. In the past, sport belonged to men; its future belongs to all human beings.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 24px; text-align: center;">Reference List

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Australian Government. (2010). New Report Reveals Poor Media Coverage of Women in Sport. Media Release, retrieved from: []

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dworkin, S & Messner, M. (2002). Introduction: Gender Relations & Sport. Sociological Perspectives, 45 (4) 347 <span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Frey, J. (1991). Sport and Society. Annu. Rev. Social. 17 (22) 503

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Google Images (2011) retrieved from: []

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Lenskyj, H. (1998). ‘Inside Sport’ or ‘On the Margins?’ Australian Women and the Sport Media. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 33 (1) 19-32. Doi: 10.1177/101269098033001002

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">N/A (2003). Towards better sport – good practices for women and girls. Australian Sports Commission

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Pfister, G. (2010). Women In Sport – Gender relations and future perspectives. Sport in Society, 13 (2) 234-248

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sherman, N. (2001). Title IX and Women’s Participation In Sport. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 72 (7) 17

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Stevenson, D. (2002). Women, Sport and Globalization: Competing Discourses of Sexuality and Nation. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 26 (2) 209-225. Doi: 10.1177/0193723502262006

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Wanneberg, P. (2011). The Sexualisation of Sport: A gender analysis of Swedish elite sport from 1967 to the present day. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 18 (3) 265-278. Doi: 10.1177/1350506811406075


 * <span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">WIKI Comments: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Nov 3, 2011 10:44 am

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hi Emma, I've read your analysis quite a few times because I just loved how much research and effort you have put into your wiki! I think you make some really valid points on how women are presented in the media and the overall argument is really strong! You should be very happy with it.

Emma Howe N6873278

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Nov 3, 2011 10:47 am <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hi Jane, I have read and re-read this wiki so many times because I have found that the points you have made throughout the analysis have been really strong and very valid! I am also doing women in sport so it's great to be able to read other fellow 'women in sport' wikis and see the different angles that are being brought forward. Congradulations, I feel you have done an awesome job!
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Jane Young ****<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> n6878164 **