Seeking+Equality+in+Sport

Name: Nicholas Whimp

Student number: n8323062 Tutorial: Friday 9am-10am Tutor: Michelle Newcomb

"In a country with such a rich sporting culture as Australia, where women's sport is competitive and very successful on the international stage, it is incredibly disappointing that female sport remains so starkly under-represented in the media." – Kate Ellis, the Federal Minister of Sport

Cultural Artifact:  One of the main issues concerning women’s involvement in sport and the media is that female athletes are not recognized for their achievements, rather by their sex appeal. What is more alarming is that instead of coming up with strategies to positively increase coverage, female athletes are now starting to “alter” their clothing, as they believe this is the only way to increase coverage. This cartoon (Hextrum, 2008) depicts this and mocks the fact that the knee jerk response to increase coverage is to show more skin.

Public Health Issue The public health issue that is to be examined throughout this analysis is to outline just how inequitable the playing field is in terms of the involvement in sport by females when comparing them to males. This issue includes the cultural barriers that still exist, the current policies that have been put in place to increase involvement and also the importance, and lack of, media attention that women’s sport observes. These issues are of great importance in understanding how and why female participation rates are not equal to that of their male counterparts.

Literature Review Women’s participation in sport has had a long history. It is a history marked by division and discrimination but also one filled with major accomplishments by female athletes and important advances for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The beneficial effects of regular participation in sport and physical activity have been widely supported by scientific evidence. Studies have shown that physical activity can significantly lower the risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, osteoporosis, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, depression and some forms of cancer (Pate et al., 1995; Glasgow et al., 1997). In addition to improvements in health, women and girls stand to gain specific social benefits from participation in sport and physical activity. Sport and physical activity provides women and girls with an alternative avenue for participation in the social and cultural life of their communities and promotes enjoyment of freedom of expression, new opportunities and increased self-esteem. (Sandys, 2007)

Women’s involvement in sport has come a long way in the in last ten years. According to research gathered from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the participation rates in 2000 were fifty-two percent in females and sixty-six percent in males (ABS, 2000). Clearly this does not depict equality; however the most recent research which was gathered in 2010 by ABS suggests there has been a drastic improvement and shows that the rates have now increased to sixty-three percent for females and sixty-five percent in males (ABS, 2010).

Although women’s involvement in sport has dramatically increased over the last ten years and is almost equal to their male counterparts, there are still plenty of barriers and limitations that are moving women to become more involved in sport and physical activity. The Australian Women’s sport and Recreation Association (AWRA) has made it clear that the major barriers affecting women’s participation in sport and physical activity are the cultural barriers, lack of time women have i.e. mothers and most importantly the lack of media coverage (Sparks, 2007).

The culture of sport itself presents a problem. Some women/girls are turned off ‘sport’ altogether because they see it as a male-dominated activity. It is just not seen as feminine or ‘girly’ to be interested in sport and, for many girls, being sporty is felt to be at odds with being feminine (Women’s et al, 2008). To overcome this barrier women and sporting organisations must challenge sexist assumptions and behavior inside their organisation and among participants. Studies have shown that women and girls can respond better to the social, health and well-being characteristics than competition (Women’s et al, 2008). Perhaps combining physical activity with social activities or having guest speakers on active lifestyles, nutrition, body image, smoking etc, would liberate the women’s sporting world of the cultural limitation.

At all levels, and in all roles women, are under-represented in the sports sector. This may be because of the cultural aspects surrounding sport or maybe it is the gender stereotyping, however no matter the causes, working in a sector where they are in the minority, can give women the sense that they don’t belong in the world of sport. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Kate Ellis, the Federal Minister for Sport, said that "In a country with such a rich sporting culture as Australia, where women's sport is competitive and very successful on the international stage, it is incredibly disappointing that female sport remains so starkly under-represented in the media." (Ellis, 2010). In addition, a <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;"> recent study conducted by the Australian Sporting Commission last year found that w <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">omen in sport make up just nine per cent of all sports coverage on Australian television News and current affairs and seven per cent of other sport programming. Not only this but television news reports on female sport had the lowest average duration of all the types of sport news analysed; with reports on male sport having an average duration of thirty seconds longer than reports on female sport, (Ellis,2010). All of this is best put in context when one considers that horseracing alone received more airtime than all women’s sport combined on Australian television news.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Not only do women not receive adequate media coverage, but the coverage they do receive is often negative and focuses on either their “sex appeal” or scandals instead of their achievements (Ellis, 2011). One only needs to Google search women athletes or pick up a sports illustrated magazine to see female athletes being shown in skimpy outfits. Another example of women being exploited for their looks rather than their achievements is beach volleyball. How come women were subjected to wearing briefs that could not be any thicker than 6cm at the hip whilst men were allowed to wear shorts? (Cortis et al, 2007).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Therefore there is no doubt that if you’re a female athlete then media coverage is limited. Female athletes are constantly trying to find ways to get coverage, to grow their profile and attract much-needed sponsorship dollars. However the answer is not to “sell” their bodies to the media, it should be to introduce strategies that are aimed at increasing positive coverage and televising women’s sport with more sponsorships deals available. The government recognizes this and because of that has introduced one of the biggest funding programs, providing a dedicated pool of funds through the Australian Sports Commission to provide women's sport with additional resources to break into the media cycle and boost the positive media coverage of women's sport in Australia. Not only this but the Australian Sports Commission will now work with national sporting organisations and other key bodies, such as the Butterfly Foundation, to develop strategies to tackle body image issues which affect women's - and particularly girl's - participation in sport.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 32px;">Cultural and Social Analysis <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">As can be seen in the literature presented above, society and culture both play major roles in women’s involvement in sport. Various studies have illustrated that cultural differences have lead to various issues surrounding women’s involvement in sport. Such as the study conducted by Sparks (2007) which showed that cultural barriers were ranked highly as one of the major barriers affecting women’s involvement in sport. This is because over the years sport has been seen as ‘male-dominant’ and a means to demonstrate masculinity. These predominant stereotypes, that sport is for men to show off their masculinity and that it is not seen to be feminine to take part in sports, is what is deterring women and preventing them from getting involved (Sandys, 2007). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Social trends are also impacting greatly on this issue as women now feel that in order to be recognized they must try and grab attention by dressing in revealing clothes. This is shown in Hextrum’s (2008) cartoon, and also in other literature such as Kate Ellis’ (2011) debate were she clearly outlined this. So, to challenge both the cultural dominated norms and social trends by implementing certain strategies aimed at increasing positive coverage, rather than introducing new clothing, there would be a significant change in involvement and an increase in positive coverage. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Being aware of this issue is imperative, as sport and physical activity provides women and girls with an alternative avenue for participation in the social and cultural life of their communities and promotes enjoyment of freedom of expression, new opportunities and increased self-esteem (Sandys, 2007). Therefore if women are continually not given adequate media coverage this will limit the amount of sponsorship opportunities which will in turn hamper the development and professionalism of sports. This viscous cycle will not only effect the sporting side but also the physical recreation side, which as mentioned not only increases new opportunities and increases self esteem but is also imperative in making sure that women and girls of all ages stay physically active. Public health experts should intervene in this issue and focus on the development of younger girl’s involvement in sport and make it clear to them that sport is not a male domain and that in fact there are many sports and programs out their dedicated to women and their skill sets.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 32px;">Analysis of Cultural Artefact and own learning relfections <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Many of the issues presented in this analysis can be represented by the cultural artefact presented above. The in-adequate media coverage that women receive can often push them or their sport to employ strategies such as “sexing up”. A prime example of this is the International Table Tennis Federation, which urged players to dress in sexy uniforms to increase their spectators (Thomas, 2008). It is disappointing that women are not recognized for their achievements, rather by their sex appeal. What is more alarming is that instead of coming up with strategies to positively increase coverage, female athletes or organisations such as the International Table Tennis Federation are now starting to “alter” their clothing, as they believe this is the only way to increase coverage. Humorously this cartoon mocks the fact that the knee jerk response to increase coverage and spectators is to show more skin. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">From a male’s perspective I did not realise just how in-equitable the playing field was when it came to the attention that females receive versus the attention males receive. I was shocked to learn that although their participation rates in sport and physical recreation are almost on par, their media attention is certainly not. With women only receiving nine percent of the media coverage and horseracing surpassing them in the media stakes for Australian television news, I feel that this is ridiculous and that women should receive more positive media attention because they have to undergo the years of hard training and sacrifices just like men, so how is it fair that this goes unnoticed and they aren’t seen for their hard work, blood, sweat and tears.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 32px;">Bibliography <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Cortis, N. S. (2007). //participation in sport and recreation by culturally and linguistically diverse women.// University of New South Wales. New South Wales: SPRC.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Ellis, K. (2010, July 15). //Australian Goverment.// Retrieved October 3rd, 2011, from Australian Sports Commission : http://www.ausport.gov.au/participating/women/research

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Ellis, K. (2011, January 27th). //The Punch//. Retrieved October 10th, 2011, from Treating women's sport like a trivial fashion contest: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/treating-womens-sport-like-a-trivial-fashion-contest/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Foundation, W. S. (2009). Barriers to sports participation for women and girls. //Womens Sport and Fitness Foundation//, 1-4. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Hextrum, R. (2008). //AN EXPLORATION OF THE CONDITION OF THE MODERN FEMALE ATHLETE//. Retrieved October 28th, 2011, from SEX & SPORTS: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=sexism+in+sport&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=587&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=HFVDPY6s1jsG_M:&imgrefurl=http://modernfemaleathlete.blogspot.com/&docid=Ms9O9ieTVIIOKM&imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2Cb4Qb60Jco/SP5nw-FGkwI/AAAAAAAAACs/RSbQVaa//

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Sandys, E. (2007, December 27th). Women, Gender Equality and Sport. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Women 2000 and beyond //. United Nations: Division of the advancement of women.//

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Sparks, M. (2007). National Womensport & Recreational Survey. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Australian Womensport & Recreation Association //, 3-10.//

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Statistics, A. B. (2000, April). //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">involvement in organised sport and physical activity//. Retrieved October 20th, 2011//

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Thomas, K. (2008, August 20th). //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Do Stylish Clothes Make the Table Tennis Player? .// Retrieved October 28th, 2011, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sports/olympics/21tabletennis.html

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 32px;">LEARNING ENGAGEMENT AND REFLECTION TASK


 * Running like a girl or posing like an athlete- Is the media playing the fields fair? **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;"> **(How Equitable is the Media Playing Field? -** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Madeleine Morton) **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Great topic! Very good use of relevant research to back up your points on how the media is affecting not only women’s sport as a whole but also future athletes. I agree with you that the media can be held somewhat responsible for causing body image issues and discouraged feelings through the use of sexualizing females in magazines such as FHM or Playboy. Also I found it was very interesting to see how the Australian Government has finally realised how much of a problem this is and how much it is affecting women’s sport ,and is now producing a funding program dedicated to increasing sponsorship and positive media coverage for women. Hopefully women’s media coverage will improve, and they are seen for their sporting accomplishments rather than their latest bikini shoot!


 * Running like a Girl: How Equitable is the Playing Field when it comes to Women in Sport? **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;"> **(Equality or Fairness? What do women really want-** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Zara Beale) **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;"> Very well researched and interesting statistics on how the number of sporting participants has decreased from 66% to 64%, due to the decline of female participation. What I also found interesting was your other statistics on the amount of media coverage females receive, 9% of all sports coverage in Australia! This statistic really puts how inequitable the playing field is into perspective. I also liked the fact that your cultural artifact was aimed at providing a positive outlook instead of portraying the negative side. Once again good work, very enjoyable to read!