TRUE+FANTASY+FOOTBALL

Name: Rachel Denning Student Number: N7466005 Tutor: Abbey Diaz

 **//TRUE OPPORTUNITY OR TRUE FANTASY?//**

media type="youtube" key="-XPBynu1vmI" height="315" width="560" align="center" **// Cultural Artefact //** The YouTube clip, “2011 Lingerie Bowl Commercial - Lingerie Football League (LFL) “True fantasy football” promotes the Lingerie Football League (LFL) made up of twelve teams from either America or Canada. It is part of the American football league and plays during the off season of the American National Football League. Mitch Mortaza developed this concept in 2009 from the Super Bowl halftime alternative television special called, Lingerie Bowl. It is a pay per view event broadcasted worldwide in over eighty-five countries. The sport is full contact, involving seven women on each side. There are no field goals and no punts, and a kick off to begin the game and second half. The objective is to get the first touchdown on every fourth down.A game consists of two seventeen minute halves, separated by a fifteen minute halftime. In the event of a tie, one or more eight minute sudden-death overtimes are played until a victor is determined. Uniforms involve shoulder pads, elbow pads, knee pads, garters, bras, panties, and ice hockey style helmets with clear plastic visors in lieu of face masks.

**// Public Health Issue //** In today’s media it is common to see such clips and images as the ones shown above. Women in the media are often depicted as sexual objects or reduced to decorative objects to simply attract viewers’ attention (Greenberg et al., 1993; Reichert & Carpenter, 2004; Seidman, 1992). Outside of interactions with males in the media, women's bodies or body parts are often used to invite the viewers to gaze upon them (Mulvey, 1975). For example, in the YouTube clip above the sportswomen are shown in provocative poses and stances, spotlighting their breasts, legs and other parts of their nude body as a means of enticing and selling their sport/game to viewers.

**// Literature Review //** The prevalence of female sexism in sport is a rising issue for all females involved in the sporting industry. The Come Out to Play report (Mitchell, Hillier, Sbaraglia, & Symons, 2010) indicated that 9.9% of women reported there were sports they would like to play but didn’t, fearing abuse. Sexism was also reported by 42.7% of those surveyed, with women being the most common targets. During the last 2 decades, numerous empirical studies investigating the interaction of gender, sport, and the media have consistently found that media coverage of female athletes have failed to mirror their athletic achievements. Studies of media coverage of female athletes show that they are generally under-represented compared to their male counterparts (Duncan & Messner, 1998; Eastman & Billings, 2000; Harris & Clayton, 2002; Pederson, 2002). Despite the exponential growth in women's sport in the last three decades, elite female athletes typically receive only about 10% of print media coverage (Bernstein, 2002). Researchers argue that the media does not cover and represent women in sport as they are in real life (Bishop, 2003). Women are not only being represented as sexual objects in the sports media, yet are being misrepresented, which is further fueling these stereotypes of women in sport as; weak, sexual objects. Television programming cultivates shared, common perceptions among audience members by consistently broadcasting similar messages (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1994). The cultivation theory hypothesizes that individuals who often watch television will be likely to view the world in the way that it is presented on television. The cultivation theory, however, has been criticized because it assumes that all media content, regardless of genres and programs, is similar. Potter stated that the degree to which stereotypes are reinforced varies across genres and programs (Potter, 1993). Some studies have moved beyond content analysis to demonstrate that watching sports and music programming influences young men's attitudes toward women (Kaestle et al., 2007; Messner et al., 1999; Ward, 2002; Ward & Friedman, 2006). Most studies have explored the effects of watching sports programming and music television on adoption of traditional gender stereotypes (e.g. Cohen, 1993; Duncan & Brummet, 1987; St. Lawrence & Joyner, 1991; Theberge & Cronk, 1986) support of the "thin ideal" body image (see Groesz, Levine & Murnen, 2002, for a meta-analysis) and endorsement of sexual violence against women (Johnson et al., 1995; Kaestle et al., 2007). Yet few studies have considered whether exposure to this programming is associated with sexually objectifying others. Although studies focused on the media's effect on attitudes about sexually objectifying men are rare, researchers have established that men and women react differently to sexually objectifying content (Calfin et al., 1993; Johnson et al, 1995; Ward 2002). For example, Ward (2002) found that men and women were influenced differently by sexually objectifying music videos. Women were more likely to accept the sexual objectification of women after watching the music videos; whereas, men were not affected by watching the videos. However, research on gender-specific effects is inconclusive. Ward and Friedman (2006) replicated Ward's 2002 study with high school students and found no gender differences. Both men and women were more likely to think of women as sex objects after they were exposed to sexual media content. Although women are gazed upon in interpersonal or social settings in their personal lives (Cary, 1978 & Gardner, 1980), they are also gazed upon in media depictions of such social settings. Content analyses have shown that when the media portray interactions between men and women, the men are often looking directly at the women, while women are often looking away from the men (Goffman, 1979). Outside of interactions with males in the media, women's bodies or body parts are often used to invite the viewers to gaze upon them (Mulvey, 1975). For example, many advertisements for popular products spotlight female's breasts or legs as a means of selling the products as the above YouTube clip shows. The media generally portrays narrow and stereotypical representations of women and femininity that transmit unrealistic standards for physical appearance (Ward & Harrison, 2005), themselves based on these idealized representations (Field et al., 1999; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002; Levine, Smolak, & Hayden, 1994). Furthermore, women and girls are routinely sexualized in the media (American Psychological Association, 2007). A large body of psychological research has documented the problematic impact of idealized and sexualized images of women on female viewers’ body image (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008; Groesz et al., 2002; Holmstrom, 2004). Recent research has found that women’s sports media exposure among adolescents is linked to body perceptions (Fredrickson & Harrison, 2006). This research examined the above stated link from the perspective of the objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). This study found that adolescents watching women’s lean sports had an increased self-objectification. Based on the objectification theory, this study showed that girls and women develop their primary view of their physical selves from observations of others. These observations can be via the media or personal experiences. Through a blend of expected and actual exposure, females are socialised to objectify their own physical characteristics from a third person perception, self-objectification. Women and girls then develop an expected physical appearance for themselves, based on the observations of others and thus this sexual objectification and self-objectification ultimately influences the social gender roles and inequalities between the sexes. However, less research attention has been paid to investigating whether particular media images can positively impact body image among girls and women. Given the pervasiveness of media in society, it is especially important to better understand positive media influences so parents, educators, legislators, and engaged citizens can advocate for change in the content of our media.

**// Cultural and Social Analysis //** The prevalence and acceptance of female sexism in sport is greatly influenced by social, economic, political, and cultural groups. It is also affected by individual choices and freedom. Social structures such as the media, political and governmental systems and education are social influence’s that encourage female sexism in sport. The political and economic forces can be seen through the unequal pay conditions between male and female sports people. Historically, men have dominated economic power because they have been encouraged to engage in productive work, whereas women were reduced to the domestic roles at home. It was not until the second wave of the feminist movement in the 1960s that focused on women’s cultural inequalities that sport was introduced, and the stereotypical gender roles and perceptions started to be challenged. Feminist sport academics claim that female athletes are marginalized and exploited. They seek to change sport to counter oppression based on not just gender, but also race, class, and ethnicity (Hall, 2002). Feminists view sport and the media as symbiotic institutions that frame sports coverage within a gender hierarchy where male athletes are portrayed as naturally superior to female athletes. The media perpetuate and naturalize this hierarchy by rewarding female athletes whose physical appearance conforms to a Euro-centric heterosexual femininity with more coverage and, thus, more exposure for commercial endorsements than female athletes who have an androgynous physical appearance (Creedon, 1994). Despite this achievement much of the feminist intervention in sport has occurred in recent years, much of which has been part of a more general concern with women’s leisure and with the relationships between class, patriarchy and culture emanating from women’s studies, cultural studies and social history (Hargraves, 1990). Although this intervention encouraged and allowed more women on the sporting field, the media still contradicts the equality of gender in sport through the portrayal and sexual objectification of women in sports. The media’s role in sexual objectifying women in sport is a crucial influence society needs to consider when addressing the issue of gender equality in sport. Sexualised “messages” including, yet not inclusive too; stereotypes, perceptions, representations and misrepresentations of women, permeate the Australian culture every day. One of the most prominent means of transporting these “messages” is through the mass media. Female objectification was once thought imponderable but through a growing body of research, this belief has been proven wrong. Indeed, the objectification of women is evident in our sport where women are constantly sexualized, but the dismemberment of women has yet to receive the consideration and exploration it deserves. Kilbourne (2002) suggested that the dismemberment of women is a monstrous problem in advertising. Dismemberment advertisements focus on one part of the body, e.g., a woman’s breasts. Typically, dismemberment advertisement employs female body parts for the purpose of selling a product. The lack of research and statistics available shows the need for further attention and development. Gender mainstreaming in sport is essential and requires that sporting bodies and institutions identify and explicitly address the relevant gender perspectives through many avenues including, research and statistics (United Nations Division for Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2007). It is important for the health experts to focus on the area of sexual objectification and dismemberment of women in sport, particularly within the media to allow an even playing field for all women playing sport. Health experts should pay particular attention to sexual objectification dismemberment of women in the media as it can have negative health impacts for women and girls. The dismemberment of women in the media, in addition to the objectification of women, have serious repercussions including, but not limited to, body shame, appearance anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders. Athleticism and femininity are contradictory to one another and therefore female athletes must balance their athletic prowess with femininity to be socially accepted (Krane, 2001). Society needs to recognise and accept the equality of women in sport, and bring a stop to sexually objectifying for our future generation of young girls to meet their true sporting potential.

**// Analysis of Artefact and Learning Reflections //** The YouTube clip, 2011 Lingerie Bowl Commercial represents the little change our society has made in regards to gender equality in sport. It demonstrates the lack of awareness that the media has about the impact it is making on our next generation and the extent to which “viewers” enjoy the sexual objectification of women in sport. It shows that the little recognition or “air time” given to women sports is only given when the male sports/games have viewed/played or areon break, including mid games. Upon reflection, this assignment has enabled me to see the connections between the socio-cultural environment and equality in sport. The perceptions and stereotypes thrown out by the media not only influence women and men’s’ decisions on types and participation rates of sport, but gender roles associated with sports. I have also gained the understanding of the connections between gender inequalities within sport with a objectification and cultivation approach. Before studying this unit I didn’t really notice the extent to which women are sexual objectified in sport and the impacts it has had and continues to have. This unit has allowed me to research in depth the affect the media has on our society and the decisions we make. I has taught me the impact and value of consideration needed about socio-cultural influences when discussing and implementing units and topics within my chosen subject area of education, Health.

**// Learning Engagement and Reflection Task //** http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/Women%27s+Equality+in+Sport The artefact that you have chosen empathises the benefits of sport and physical activity of and too a wide demographic of girls. It promotes young girls participation in sport and specifically targets adults and parents to stand up and take notice through the hugely influential company, Nike, and the use of children speaking to the audience in the YouTube clip. You have talked about the trends in participation rates of women in sport and possible determinants of these rates. These rates, in my opinion, are greatly due to the media’s representation of women in sport and the stereotypes projected and perceived by the media about gender roles. Young girls should be encouraged to play any and all sports as the benefits are far too substantial to dismiss and ignore! Great wiki, I really enjoyed! http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/Girl+please%21++My+mascara+runs+faster+than+you+do. I thought your wiki was really interesting! I loved the artefact because it was a recent and relatable example of the lack of support and recognition of women in sport. I found it intriguing about how the participation rates of women in the Olympics were mainly due to recent laws implemented and enforced. It made me question if the role of education, specifically H.P.E and physical education, could influence and impact the participation of girls and also the views about women’s gender roles more than we think? You have made a great link between the socio-cultural factors such as the media and the equality of sport. Nice work!!
 * Running like a Girl: How Equitable is the Playing Field when it comes to Women in Sport? **
 * Girl please! My mascara runs faster than you do. **

Bernstein, A. (2002). Is it time for a victory lap?: Changes in the media coverage of women in sport. //International Review for the Sociology of Sport//, //37//(3-4), 415-428. doi: 10.1177/101269020203700301
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