Women+Deserve+a+Sporting+Chance+in+the+Media

Caitlin Horsham n6247733 Tutor: Sophie Miller

** Women Deserve a Sporting Chance in the Media ** //'Every image of sport in the media evokes a wealth of associations, constructing a lens through which to view society' (Kennedy, 2009, p.1)// Sport is a huge part of the Australian lifestyle. In Australia almost two-thirds, or 66 per cent, of the population aged 15 years and over participate in sport or recreational activities each year (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, 2009). Australians are also keen followers of sport on television however despite this, i n the media today, there is a lack of coverage of women’s sport. Inevitably the picture we perceive conveys all the complexities and issues of contemporary cultural politics (Kennedy, 2009, p.1). The media coverage of women in sport at all levels is marked by discrimination that is reinforced by negative gender stereotypes (Broderick, 2010). The television commercial Nike For Women is an international campaign aimed at turning around the bias when it comes to gender in the sporting arena. This paper will examine this artefact in women’s sport and analyse why it is important for women’s sport to be represented satisfactorily in the media.

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The relationship between sport and society and the way sport is represented in the media can shed light on central themes in society over time (Kennedy, 2009, p.2). In a generation of video-on-demand technology, television viewing has ceased to be a shared experience, only with the exception of major televised sporting events (Whannel, 2009). The media is ‘central to the sociology of sport’s long-standing interest in the commercialisation of sport and the construction of social identity though sport’ (Kennedy, 2009, p. 2). There is a double standard in coverage of women's sports. Male athletes obtain media attention that is more likely to be focused on their game and level of performance. Women in sport are more likely to receive media attention that focuses on their physical attractiveness or personal lives. Femininity is seen as passive and masculinity is seen as active (Evans, 2006, p. 548). Australia's history may be rich in sport but the women that have contributed considerably to that history are unlikely to be heard of. The female athletes that have become success stores in Australian sport have had to overcome a system that worked emphatically in opposition to them. Consistent and positive media coverage of women in sport can be valuable in a number of ways. In particular, sports role models have a high impact on young girl’s participation rates in sports. The sports participation rates in girls aged between five to 14 years is noticeably lower. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) report 70 per cent of boys having participated in organised sport compared to 56 per cent of girls. In light of this, it can be inferred media constructs our social reality. Keeping all this in mind, we need to ask ourselves what sort of images of female athletes are commonly presented to viewers in today's media? Has women's sport can as far as we think it has? And how much space and time does television devote to women's sport?
 * Public Health Issue **

Literature Review
Women are far more less likely than men to reach daily recommended levels of physical activity (Bauman et al., 2002). Research has revealed that the barriers to participating in sport are many and varied, including personal, social, psychological and environmental factors (Baumen et al., 2002). The ten most popular programs on free-to-air television in 2008 were all predominately male sporting events (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, 2009). AFL, rugby league, men’s tennis and horse racing received the top spots. Women’s sports air time does not just include airing their games. It is news and sports highlights and interviews on prominent sports and entertainment chat shows. The Australian Sports Commission (2009) conducted research into the content and quantity of women’s sport coverage which found women in sport makes up nine per cent of all sports coverage. In contrast, males make up 81 per cent and at present, horseracing receives more viewing time than the total of women’s sports coverage. These findings were from the report //Towards a Level Playing Field - Sport and Gender in Australian Media (2009)// which found the low coverage in women’s sport is implicit in sending the message implying male sports have more import in Australian television. Television coverage of women’s sport in 1996 was two per cent and commercial network television coverage of women’s sport was 0.2 per cent (Australian Sports Commission, 2011a). Minimal progress has been made in 15 years, especially in the era of digital television and numerous channels.

In sport, ‘processes of globalization are being driven by the entwined quest for increased corporate profits and the global media audiences deemed necessary to achieve such levels of profitability’ (Stevenson, 2002). Women’s sport does not have the audience or following deemed necessary for prime time television. If there is little to no coverage it is extremely difficult to increase viewing numbers. At present it is a vicious and unending circle that must be broken.  Not only does improved coverage of women’s sports in the media increase the confidence in young female aspiring athletes, consistent media coverage of a sport can be beneficial in a number of ways. It can provide a visual profile, create credibility for a sport or athlete and, by increasing spectator appeal, help attract sponsorship opportunities for the sport (Australian Sports Commission, 2011a). During the year the men’s AFL, cricket, rugby league, soccer, rugby union, tennis and golf dominate Australian sport via national television coverage. Why is this so? Men’s sport does have the advantage of incumbency. It has been around for a long time which enables teams to be build long-lasting loyalties that can even be passed down through families. In addition, there is the stereotypical prejudice against the level of women’s athletic ability as not as strong as a males and the large variety of sport available in a crowded marketplace is also a contributing factor.

In despite of this, women’s sporting achievements are continuing to quietly grow, even if the media does not present this picture clearly. Women constituted 46 per cent of the 2008 Beijing Olympic team and won eight of 14, or 57 per cent, of Australia's gold medals (Phillips, 2008). Despite continual success of women in the Olympic Games sham explanations are made up for the top performance of its women Olympians (Phillips, 2008). Australian commentators came up with the 'our men are distracted' theory which explains women are Australia's greatest Olympic success story because our top male athletes go elsewhere and are distracted by non-Olympic sports such as Australian football and rugby (Phillips, 2008). They are trying to say our fastest and strongest men in sport pursue other sporting careers that receive more media coverage (Phillips, 2008). Even women’s success stories are weighted down by this negative association of sport as a purely male sporting sphere.


 * Cultural and Social Analysis **

Advocators of women’s sport are typically labelled feminists’ which can sometimes have negative connotations which negates its positive social contributions. Feminism is ‘not concerned with hating and blaming men, but is concerned with redressing social structures to include women equally’ (Carroll, 2009). ‘Feminism critiques social systems in terms of the position and power of women within these systems’ (Carroll, 2011). Sex differences are rooted in biology and how society comes to understand and exhibit gender is based on culture (Brooks & Hebert 2006, p. 297). A traditional feminist view of sports is that they are subjugated to males and masculine in orientation at the exclusion of all else. An examination of the changes in sport over time can find key transformations in culture. Following a movement away from the stereotypical 1950’s housewife, in the 1960’s women demanded equal status to men in many areas of social, political and cultural life. This included competitive sports and sports for leisure, where some women challenged society's expectations by taking up previously male defined sports such as horse racing, football and long-distance running. Evans (2006) proposes that girls’ experiences with sports manifest in relation to the performance of femininity and the fear of masculinisation. Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar & Kauers (2004) found the ‘characteristics of athleticism are culturally coded as masculine and contradict hegemonic femininity.’ In terms of media content, what is both included and excluded, sends overt messages to girls about how they should or should not act in society ( Leavy, Gnong & Ross, 2009).

Analysis of Artefact and Personal Reflections
Nike for women provides a chance to open conversation and reflect on the situation in women’s sport by giving a voice to athletes and young women. It must be noted Nike is a commercial brand, and by default is marketing their products and services in the commercial. Positive brand reinforcement from a company is essential to ensuring their reputation as an equal opportunity and credible business facing today’s issues head on. Regardless, Nike is tackling the issue and taking positive steps in the representation of female athletes. The commercial features an oversized, giant megaphone which emphasises that women have a small voice in women’s sport and must shout to get their opinion heard. What makes this commercial different is that the female athletes voicing their viewpoint acknowledge that females are viewed differently and must overcome more obstacles in sport but this does not signify as a wholly negative thing. One of the female athletes steps onto the platform and says, “Are boys bigger, stronger, faster? Yes. Is that all that has to do with being an athlete? No.” For example, another athlete says, “The half pipe doesn’t care that I’m a girl”. The commercial asks you to look at how each individual plays the game.

On reflection, I believe this advertisement has each female admitting that they are looked at differently in sport for being female, but this does not matter to them because they are still athletes and should be taken seriously as one regardless of their gender. They are all positive role models and the media needs more. Before researching this topic, I believed the media determined in society whether female athletes can be strong, self-assured and highly capable to younger aspiring female athletes. After researching this topic, the information reiterated how capable female athletes are. For example, the success demonstrated at previous Olympic Games confirms that women can compete at an international and high sporting level on television. I have found young boys grow up watching television, flooded by idealised, heroic, masculine images of themselves playing sports and being praised for their sporting achievements and from these messages they are expected and intrinsically encouraged to play sports by all around them. Young girls are not getting these messages in the media. On the bright side, I am glad to find positive steps are being taken and t he promotion and support of women in sport has been recognised by the Australian Government as a priority focus area for the future progress of sport in Australia (Australian Sports Commission, 2009). Minister for Sport Mark Arbib and Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis announced recently that 15 national sporting bodies have been allocated $1.45 million in funding as part of the Australian Government’s Women in Sport Media Grants (Australian Sports Commission, 2011b). I find these initiatives are not just demanding equal coverage for the sake of equal coverage, as were my impressions before research. The funding is designed to help sports increase the exposure and reach of women’s sport in the Australian media by allowing them to develop quality content for broadcasters and attract greater coverage (Australian Sports Commission, 2011b).


 * Conclusion **

The challenge still remains to get women's sports games played on prime time television and women’s sports results in our mainstream media. It is important for young girls to have female athletic role models to be able to look up to. Women in sport should have the same opportunities in the spotlight to gain access to potential sponsorships. They should be able to earn the same amount as male athletes so they do not have to work two jobs to support themselves in addition to trying to maintain peak physical condition. Progress is being made but there is still room for improvement. It should not be your gender that counts in sports, it should be how you play the game.


 * References **

Australian Sports Commission (2009). //Towards a Level Playing Field - Sport and Gender in Australian Media//. Retrieved from [|www.ausport.gov.au/__.../Towards_a_Level_Playing_Field_LR.pdf]

Australian Sports Commission. (2011a). Media. Retrieved from []

Australian Sports Comission. (2011b). Australian Government commits $1.45 million to boost women's sport media coverage. Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Australian Children Going for Gold: Children’s participation in Commonwealth Games sports. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

Bauman, A., Bindon, J., Corne, S., Hawe, P., Humphries, J., Jones, H., … Wen, L.M. (2002). Promoting physical activity in women: evaluation of a 2-year community-based intervention in Sydney, Australia. //Health Promotion International// //, 17 // (2), 127-137. doi: 10.1093/heapro/17.2.127

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Broderick, E. (2010). Women in sport hit the grass ceiling. //The Age.// May 21. Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Brooks, D,E. & Hebert, L.P (2006). Gender, Race and Media Representation. In B. Dow & J.T Wood (Eds.), //Gender and Communication in Mediated Texts// (pp. 297-317). Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Carroll, J. (2011). PUB209 Health, Culture and Society: Week 3 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from [].

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. (2009) // Sport on television: A review of the anti-siphoning scheme in the contemporary digital environment. // Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Evans, B. (2006). “I’d feel ashamed”- Girls’ bodies and sports participation. //Gender & Society,// //13//(5), 547-561. doi: 10.1080/09663690600858952

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kennedy, Eileen (2009). Sport, media, and society**.** Oxford, New York: Berg.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Krane, V., Choic, P., Baird, S., Aimar, C., & Kauer, K. (2004). Living the paradox: Female athletes negotiate femininity and muscularity. //Sex roles,// //50//(5), 315-329. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">doi: 10.1023/B:SERS.0000018888.48437.4f

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leavy, P., Gnong, A., & Ross, L.S. (2009). Femininity, Masculinity, and Body Image Issues among College-Age Women: An In-Depth and Written Interview Study of the Mind-Body Dichotomy. //The Qualitative Report, 14//(2), 261-292

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Phillips, D. (2008). If I can be half the athlete they were. //The Drum Opinion.// 25 August. Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stevenson, D. (2002). Women, Sport, and Globalization: Competing Discourses of Sexuality and Nation. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> //Journal of Sport and Social Issue//, //26// (2) , 209 -225. d oi: 10.1177/0193723502262006

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whannel, G. (2009). Television and the Transformation of Sport. //The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science//, 625 (1) , 205 -218. doi: 10.1177/0002716209339144

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My Relections
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.) Page: 'Children Waiting For The Day They Feel Good' - The Salience of Depression in Adolescence and Young Adulthood I’ve always found this song hauntingly beautiful, but never actually listened closely to the lyrics. “The dreams in which we're dying are the best I’ve ever had” is such a strong, powerful lyric. Music is a great, universal way to express your feelings and emotions. Your work demonstrates a high level of knowledge about mental health with statistics acknowledging it is a common affliction and yet despite the amount of sufferers there still remains a stigma among society. I believe society has manufactured an unrealistic perfectionism and expectation of normality among individuals, especially in the younger age groups. We can learn a lot from Durkheim’s theories in understanding the relationship between society and mental health, in particular suicide. Hopefully with knowledge, comes understanding and with education and public awareness campaigns, people will not be so scared to seek help for this illness. Overall, insightful work!
 * COMMENT: **
 * Mad World...**

2.) Page 'Gen Y gets lost in the realms of cyber space Debates about increased use of technology for communication and the effects on its audience are impassioned and you have comprehensively described why this is justifiably so. This is a confronting and intriguing artefact depicting how harmful hateful words can be. People seem to be communicating in more ways than ever before, but speaking out less. I was interested to learn that the invasive nature of cyberbullying can be considered to be the most severe form of bullying. It’s worrying to see how difficult regulating this technology is. I’ve often heard older generations mention ‘I don’t get cyber bulling…. just turn off your computer’ thus I agree with you that society and the media must play a pivotal role in changing perceptions about this serious issue. Hateful words have the power to cut deep emotionally and with the resulting implications on the person’s mental health, physically as well, as your artefact describes. Great work on such an important issue!
 * COMMENT:**
 * Words Cut Deep...**