Women+on+The+Field

Name: Kenneth Elumba Student Number: n8291870 Tutor: Emily Mann = Running like a Girl: How Equitable is the Playing Field when it comes to Women in Sport =

Below is a clip from “Playing Unfair” a documentary produced in 2002 examining the media landscape following the release of Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in 1972 in the United States, more commonly known as Title IX. The legislation states that: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..." —United States Code Section 20 The documentary includes interviews with female athletes and sports media scholars who inspect the coverage of women's sports, female athlete's achievements and challenging gender norms.

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Public Health Issue
“Research has shown that women’s sport receives than nine per cent of sports news media coverage despite Australia’s world class women’s results and outstanding female athletes" Senator The Hon Mark Arbib 9/07/2011

Does women’s sport get equal amount of coverage compared to men’s sport. You just need to switch on the TV and wait for the news or updates and it’s safe to say the answer is no. The public health issue that the clip above represents is the amount of media coverage for women's sport, the preference for men's sport and the way we view men's and women's sport today. These public health issues are of importance as sport is often seen as forms of physical activity but it is also deeply tied in with society's sexuality, race and in particular focus, gender.



**Literature Review**
Sport was often seen as a medium for athletes to display their physical abilities which is not the sole purpose in modern times. It symbolises strength and speed in which men in society have often been portrayed being superior in compared to women, the inequality that characterises society’s relation of gender in any institution around the world is found in sport as well (Washington & Karen, 2001).

In Australia, many of the early sports established were popular in Britain and were predominantly male oriented. In English society sport was usually reserved for upper class men and women as depicted in many artworks from the seventeenth and eighteenth century, 'common people' were disregarded in professional sports. However historians believe that the working class played a larger role in the development of what was considered amateur sports (Washington & Karen, 2001), which are still popular today such as rugby and football. In the nineteenth century, the British administration of the States that eventually federated to form Australia encouraged an official masculine culture whose social etiquette supposedly restricted women to parlour games (Adair, 2009). The reality however, was that the physical demands of pioneering life meant colonial women became proficient shooters, rowers, archers, swimmers and equestrians. This doesn't mean that women were taken as serious in competition when compared to men who were seen as the labourers and heavy lifters of the colonies.

As the years passed and urbanisation along with growing technology developed, television made the scene in the nineteenth century. Popular programmes delivered comedy, drama, news, current affairs and sport. Table 1 presents the past national coverage of women's sport beginning the study in 1980; the proportion is almost non-existent up until 1996. The survey found that majority of women’s sport coverage was on days when there is little men’s sport, Wednesdays and Thursdays. In the newspapers examined by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), articles on women’s sport were often at the bottom of the page or buried in the inside pages. The language used to describe women in sport emphasised their weakness, passivity and insignificance, detracting from their athletic abilities. When it came to surveying viewers the results showed that 47% of women and 67.7% of men nationwide watched sports. Almost half of the Australian population of women were watching sport but only 10% were satisfied with the amount of coverage the programs presented. This suggests that many people have been arguing this issue for more than 30 years and believe that not much has changed for the equality in sports.



Increasing numbers of women's sport clubs and leagues were in formation since 1972 (ASC, 2011), but it wasn't until late nineteenth century women were making a mark on the field that got more attention from broadcasting channels. The most recent research made on sports coverage was in 2008 by the ASC who provide table 2 and table 3.

Currently television coverage of women’s sport is inconsistent at best and non-existent most of the time. Table 2 represents the percentages of national coverage in 2008 and what should be noted is women’s sport made up less than nine per cent of all sport’s coverage. It includes overall coverage for both genders and mixed sport as well as the coverage provided by the free to air channels with ABC1 providing the most coverage who regularly broadcast netball and women’s basketball and have stated that they will devote 40% of sports airtime to women’s sport. This really hasn’t improved since 1996 and actually has decreased.



Despite the extreme disparity of coverage for national male and female sports, when the 2008 Beijing Olympics took place coverage of female sport was more favourable than male sport which can be seen in table 3 just as the Total volume of media reports were of equal proportion. Unlike the past research conducted on descriptive language of females in sport usually focusing on looks and sexuality this report showed that the leading story focus was on athletic performance. What can be suggested about these findings is that sport was continually playing there were no breaks during the broadcast of the Olympics. Another suggestion is that during an international event a successful athlete will receive extensive media attention regardless of their gender.

The methodologies used by the researchers for the area of media coverage and preference for men’s sport relies on observational based research methods. Surveys are the main source of research conducted and provide an in depth analysis on the opinions and behaviours of those being studied, in this case men and women. Generally speaking, surveys are effective only when those surveyed have a moderate degree if literacy. If the participant had trouble understanding a question it could be seen as embarrassing to ask the surveyors and could affect the outcome of the results. Another limitation is that a survey only gathers information of the questions asked. In contrast, during an interview, the interviewer can explore certain subjects in depth as they are uncovered. Surveys must also be completed in one sitting; there is usually no option to complete half of it and save it for another day. The questions are asked there and then and answers must be provided with limited time in order to collect a large cohort of participants.

Surveys may be limited in certain aspects but for this area of research, on national and international levels it is the best suited for a general look at the preferences for men’s or women’s sport and the amount of media coverage.

**Cultural and social analysis**
Sports occupies hours of weekly television and radio time, as well as the weekends of many parents and children; it receieves a separate section in the newspaper; and crowds of people fill stadiums and arenas regularly around the world (Sport in History, 2009). For these reasons we need a deeper understanding of this industry and field.

In 2010, theJournal of Sports Science and Medicine released an article analyzing the 1983 to 2008 Olypic performances. It had been conlclcuded that women’s performances remain inferior to men’s. While women have improved on the field, these progressions are proportional for each gendetr. With regards to the theory that the gender gap will probably be settled when men and women reach their physiological limits, it appears that gender gaps in sport performance have been stable for a long time: women may never catch up to men. This is a suggested to be the major factor in the preference for men’s sport on television and the lack of women’s air time.

Research conducted early 2011 in the USA by the International Communication Association supports the suggestions men resist watching women’s sport as it may threaten their masculinity and in the cases of the majority of the women they develop an interest for the sports the men in their lives follow, be it their family members or partners. People are equally affected by this issue but not in the way we would hope. How does Australia fair with this issue?

On the 24th of May 2011, Minister for Sport Mark Arbib and Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis launched the Women in Sports Media Grants. The Govenerment will invest $1.4 million to help women’s sport attract more media attention, assisting with production costs, marketing and promotion of national and international level Australian women’s leagues, competitions, teams and athletes. The expected funding outcomes include, increased and enhanced exposure of women’s sports, in the Australian media, and potentially, longer term opportunities for sports and to generate adiitional exposure and commercial revenue.

I believe that the world has been struggling with the idea that women are climbing the ranks of sport, competing just as hard as men and in some cases surpassing them. However, there are countries taking a step forward, like Australia, showing that this issue has been a focal point of researchers and the government.

You be the judge
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**Analysis of the Artefact**
The documentary 'Playing Unfair' represents the achievements of sportswomen and the challenge of gender stereotypes that women are more than sexual objects and do bring competitiveness and athleticism to the court and field. The sports media scholars investigate the infrequent portrayal of female athletes on the field with the focus at women's attractiveness and femininity. This documentary supports the points that women are not as inferior to men in sport as reflected in society as they have often been labelled and contribute with speed, strength, and endurance to promote the leagues and clubs dedicated to women and their sporting prowess. Females in sport are increasing in participation and popularity but are significantly underrepresented in media sports coverage but it can no longer be denied that women are progressing.

Personally reflecting from the research and the learning as a result of this assessment has given me a deeper look into how women are represented and how it should change if true equality is to be obtained.“Throwing like a girl” has a whole new meaning other than the insults passed around in the school yard and professional sports, and in some cases rivals that of men's performances. Acknowledging women's success, achievements and air time on radio, press and television are stepping stones and can break the years of oppression and neglect. It won't happen overnight but observing how much progress has happened from the years of men-only sports and men dominating sports coverage, time can only tell where society will head this issue.

**Wiki comments**
Wiki: Where too from now? The Future of Women's Sport

Discussion Title: Enlightened

Comment: The choice and analysis of your cultural artefact was detailed and well done. I particularly enjoyed reading about the implementation of programs by the Australian Government that promote women's participation and support in sport. I agree with your opinion that women should not look to be equal with men on the field but aim to surpass them. My view coincides with that of Timothy Leary's quote: 'Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.' This wiki page has been informative providing recent research and statistics on the topic of women’s sport and I would recommend others to take time to read this page.

Link: http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/Where+too+from+now%3F+The+Future+of+Women%27s+Sport

Wiki: How Equitable is the Media Playing Field?

Discussion Title: Not enough equality

Comment: This page is a great presentation of the public issue Madeleine. I was impressed by your coverage on women in sport and how the portrayal by the media. I did not know about the cause of depression, eating disorders and body image issues in younger female athletes from the sexualisation of their role models. I found it interesting in your literature review where the research by Thomsen, Bower and Barnes stated that adolescent girls were highly critical about female athlete’s poses and clothing yet they idolized the same athletes. I believe hearing about this issue from a point of view of a female athlete is important especially as you along with many other girls are the future of females on the field.

Link: http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/How+Equitable+is+the+Media+Playing+Field%3F

References Lumby, C., Caple, H., & Greenwood, K. (2010). //Towards a level playing field: sport and gender in Australia in media.// Retrieved from http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/356209/Towards_a_Level_Playing_Field_LR.pdf

//Sport in Society: cultural history and the study of sport//. (2009). 12(1), 3-17. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17430430802472269

Thibault, V., Guillaume, M., Berthelot, G., El Helou, N., Schall, K., Quinquis, L., Nassif, H., Tafflet, M., Escolano, S., Hermine, O., & Toussaint, J. (2010). Women and men in sport performance: the gender hap has not evolved since 1983. //Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 9//, 214-223. Retrieved from http://www.jssm.org/vol9/n2/8/v9n2-8pdf.pdf

Whiteside, E., & Hardin, M. (2011). Women (not) watching women: leisure, time, television, and implications for televised coverage of women’s sports. //Communication, Culture and Critique 4//, 122-143. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-9137.2011.01098.x