Female Athlete Stereotypes

Starting with how women are portrayed in media, Trolan (2013) states that in today’s society, individuals are shown magazines, newspapers, and television programs with articles and photographs, “of what it means to be a woman or man” (Trolan, 215). This is remarkably obvious when discussing the world of sport. Although women have achieved a somewhat higher level of respect in the everyday world, within the sporting world, “they are still viewed as women first and athletes second” (Trolan, 215). Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar, and Kauer (2004) also articulate that women participating in sport live in two extremely separate cultures: the sporting culture and the culture in which they face the continual battle between being an athlete and being a woman. Being viewed as

It is also believed that female athletes become objectified in the media as an “attempt to limit female power, thereby reinforcing hegemonic masculinity” (Pederson,2002). Mass media and sports are one of the most commanding hegemonic social institutions and there is a strong link between athleticism and masculinity. It is due to this hegemonic masculinity that women, in many ways are considered inferior to men and treated as if they have no place of their own in sports, where only male power dominates.

(Coakley, Jay) Some girls do not always get the extra push and encouragement as the guy athletes. When it comes to women athletes, experience suggest need to develop additional definitions of femininity. When it comes to fairness with gender in sports, a lot of rethinking is done. Masculinity and femininity tells what the purpose of goals

Throughout many years there has been a great change of gender roles of men and women in our society, and especially in the world of sports. Over the last couple years female athletes have really strived to gaining equal representation and media coverage as much as the male athletes do. Female athletes are also starting to participate in more male dominated sports such as, MMA, hockey and even golf. These few sports have been perceived as “manly sports” which usually makes women feel that they shouldn't participate because they're not masculine enough. Even though there are many female athletes who feel discouraged to playing “manly sports” there are also plenty of female athletes who are trying to show younger generations that it's okay to participate and compete in sports that aren't necessarily “feminine sports”. The way that gender roles have been affecting sports for a long time are through behaviors, stereotypes and the perception of male and female athletes.

Gender stereotyping in sports media is something we see everyday in magazines and on TV. Since sports were invented, males have dominated one of Canada’s largest pastimes. Reasons for this being physicality and strength, but as time progressed women began to become more involved in the culture of sport. Today there is almost an equal amount of women participating in sports as man, yet women are still not being represented with the same approach as men. About a month ago I found a video online that followed a sports reporter who was trying to make a point about gender stereotyping within sports media. He would interview professional male athletes but rather than ask them the typical interview questions we see in male sports, such as “has your workout routine changed since…” but rather asked them questions that are typically related to female athlete interviews such as one that was asked to swimmer Michael Phelps “Shaving your body hair gives you an edge in the pool, but how about your love life”, or “any comments about reports about your girlish figure”. At the end of the video they show real women athletes being asked these types of questions in real interviews. The men’s reactions of embarrassment to disgust vs. the women’s reactions of showing no surprise to being asked these derogatory questions, says it all. It is no surprise that the sexualization of female athletes is something all too common in sports media. We’ll be looking into the idea of sexualisation in

Turn on a sports channel, odds are it is a male sport or the talking of men in sports playing. The odds that this is true is because according to the Washington Post, “in 2014, ‘SportsCenter’ dedicated just two percent of its highlight program to women’s sports” (Talbi). That would mean that they could go nearly an entire show and only mention women once. Women compared to men in their image of their respective sports is incredibly less. Women are shown as more of an attractive side while men are shown as more heroic or athletic. Studies have been taken showing how unfair women are shown in sports compared to men. How does the attractiveness and athleticism of women’s sports play a role in their sponsorships and media portrayal? Women’s attractiveness

Hannon, J., Soohoo, S., Reel, J., & Ratliffe, T. (2009). Gender stereotyping and the influence of race in sport among adolescents. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 80(3), 676-684.

The authors open their article by examining the different ways that men and women are portrayed. According to Eastman and Billings, women are identified by their appearance and men by their athleticism when comparing sport stars (as cited in Hull et al., 2015, p. 107). This could be due to previous research

The issue of gender prejudice is well known to athletes who have participated in sports and continued to pursue their dreams. These individuals should

Female athletes constantly battle to adhere to the feminine social role, as well as the masculine athletic role that accompanies all levels of sport (Martin & Martin, 1995). These stereotypical roles are portrayed in the media frames imposed upon society, and they are contributing to the role conflict experienced by many young females. It is important to understand the media frames utilized in sports magazines, so the public, especially young athletes, will have the knowledge they need to identify these frames and counteract the damaging effects they may cause. With a better understanding of what frames are used to portray female athletes and women’s sports, it may be possible to increase public awareness concerning the framing issue, counteract these damaging frames, and change the public’s opinion regarding female athletes and women’s sports. The media also differ in how they frame female and male athletes in terms of attractiveness versus achievement, which devalues female athletes by emphasizing their appearance over athletic accomplishments (Knight & Giuliano, 2001; Carty, 2005).

Athletes are everywhere. We watch them at our local high school games and even on television. We pick out our favorite athletes on a professional sports team and worship them as if they were Gods. We all have a favorite athlete. Perhaps it’s basketball star, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, the Olympian, or Peyton Manning, the famous football quarterback who plays for the Denver Broncos. The commonality that these three, world-class athletes share is that they’re all male. Men have always been in the spotlight in regards to sports. When someone is asked to picture an “athlete” they’re most likely going to envision a muscular male who appears strong and healthy. Perhaps this is because males who perform in sports usually have more muscle mass,

Athletics is a profession dominated by men. Although there are many women athletes, none of them are as recognized as Kobe Bryant or Babe Ruth. The Women's Sport Report website shows different images of women winning trophies and competing in tight fitting clothing. Mariah Burton Nelson writes an article expressing the contrast in expectations for men and women in athletics. Men are encouraged to become competitive and aggressive in order to become professional athletes. On the other hand, if women act the same way the are seen as unfeminine. Opportunities for men are easily obtainable with hard work and recognized by others. While women who work just as hard are seen "out of their place" and get mad fun of for being manly. For example, everyone

Krendl, A., Gainsburg, I., & Ambady, N. (2012). The Effects of Stereotypes and Observer Pressure on Athletic Performance. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 34(1), 1-14. doi:10.1123/jsep.34.1.3

In today’s society, the theme of women’s inevitable inferiority to men in regards to athletics, salaries, and social roles is much too prevalent. This radical notion that women are incapable of performing any given task as well as men is ludicrous. Being a female athlete, I have personally fallen victim to the idiocy and ignorance of others regarding athletic capabilities of men and women respectively. The phrases “you throw like a girl” or “don’t be such a girl” plague the vocabulary of so many and have been said to me on several occasions. The fact is that I am a girl, and I do in fact “throw like a girl,” but the adverse connotation makes me insecure about my abilities.

The media portrayal of sports has changed immensely over the years. Before, women’s sports were nonexistent and the only reports revolved solely on male athletes and their sports. Then women started to develop their own place in the sports industry. Yet still, with the emergence of professional female athletes in the media, coverage was still slim to none. “Since the media are seen as reflecting what is important and has prestige, especially in western society, this severe underrepresentation is seen as creating the impression that women athletes are non-existent in the sporting world or of little value when they do exist” (Bernstein, 2002, p. 417).