Objectifying Women In Sports Essay

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.

We live in a world that changes quickly, so it's no terrible surprise that the image of women in sports is changing quickly, as well. Relatively, it hasn't been that long since women were not even socially permitted to participate in sports or any kind of physical activity-- now, I dare say, it's nearly expected. There are still remnants of past gender-types, but overall I think the image of women in sports has changed dramatically.

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).

Sports have been a part of this world since the beginning of mankind; the Olympics, for example, began during the times of Ancient Greece and those same games are as popular as ever and still continue today. However, back in the very beginning of sports history, men were the only gender granted the right to participate in athletic events; sometimes women were not even allowed be in the same general vicinity to watch. Sure, the days have changed, yet women still cease to receive the same amount of recognition in sports as men do. Why should the world care? Imagine working so hard, spending countless hours, on something that you have a passion for. However, now imagine receiving no credit or recognition for said passion predominantly because

Continuing to brain wash the young men today with the “sports is a mans world” mentality only helps to repeat the cycle of nearly oppressing women in the industry. It keeps men feeling secure when it comes to their masculinity, yet making a woman’s fight for respect a never ending struggle.

According to sportswriter Paul Gallico noun, “It is a lady’s business to look beautiful and there are hardly any sports in which she seems able to do it”. An abundance of people today believe that women are not worthy of receiving the same treatment in sports as men for this reason. First of all, there has been a law signed which is against gender inequality in athletics, but a bountiful amount of schools, including high schools and colleges, are not in compliance with it, and have not lost federal funding from not satisfying with it. Secondly, it is rare to see women's sports be recognized in the news and media. Lastly, women do not earn nearly as much money as men do in sports. I pronoun strongly believe that women deserve to be treated equally to men in athletics.

This paper aims to convince an audience that the objectification of female athletes as sexual possessions in mainstream media is negatively impacting women in sports. This will be achieved by a method of careful research through detailed articles on the subject of women in sports. This paper will explore different perspectives on the topic and convey a reasonable answer on why the objectification of women in sports should cease as a practice among main stream sports media. Sexual objectification occurs when a woman’s body, body parts, or sexual functions are treated as objects simply to be looked at, desired, or touched. As women’s sports are gaining momentum and popularity, so is the practice of sexual objectification in the media.

Becky Hammon is a female assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Nancy Lieberman is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings. What's so special about this? Until now, women did not hold positions as players or coaches in the NBA.

Iron deficiency is a common type of anaemia, a condition in which the blood lack adequate healthy red blood

In sports, coaching is male dominated. Does the public react negatively to females getting jobs as coaches for men's teams? Is it harder for females to get jobs as coaches? There are many examples and reasons why the public may react negatively to female coaches, but not all of them are negative. My developed hypothesis is that I believe it is harder for females to get jobs as coaches in men sports because females aren’t looked at as powerful/ dominant figures and it is a societal expectation in today’s society.

Over the last twenty years the respect for female athletes has increased but why is it not shown in the media coverage? Mass media has become one of the most powerful institutional forces that communicated information and helps shape the values that are apart of the modern culture. Media coverage of sports is one of the most popular news coverage, having many television stations, articles, magazines and news reports. The media coverage of sports is primarily a male-dominated institution that lacks coverage and representation of women. The relation of women in sports points out main issues that are the amount of coverage that they receive and how they are represented as athletes.

Women in professional sports fits into the Sex and Power: Global Gender Inequality class because many female athletes have experienced the inequalities in a professional sports setting. Female athletes are being put down by gender inequalities, causing less females participating in athletic programs. Women athletes are being paid less than their male counterparts. Along with being paid less, female and males are receiving unequal benefits in the form of scholarship, media coverage, transportation, and stadium conditions. The professional sport’s world is filled with the obsession of body image and sexuality. Through this obsession, female athletes have been abused from the people they trust the most. There is an increasing inequality in women’s professional sports in the form of pay, sexuality, and abuse.

Race, gender, history and sexual orientation play major roles in women's participation in sport. Through out the history of women in sport, opportunity has increased. Many athletes and coaches are presented with the issue of sexual orientation throughout their sporting career. Regardless of sexual orientation, all female athletes are affected by heterosexism. One's racial or ethnicity background greatly shapes the experience they may have in sport. This essay explores the many issues women in sport face today.

The adverse topic of women in sports stems from society's disregard to viewing women as persons. Women were, and in other parts of the world continue to be viewed as property of men and have no significant role in society. Being allowed into the Olympics was a step in the right direction for women across the world, but it was meager attempt equality. Women were still restricted by what events they were allowed to compete in, how they were trained and coached and even limited as to what they could wear. A woman’s femininity played a large role in the way they were perceived by society; weak. Women were seen as incommensurate to men and it was something that has taken us centuries to reverse. Today, women are given the rights we should have

I think every girl should be able to be in every sport. First, I think girls should be included in more sports because we want to try new things, including sports. Additionally, girls should be included in more sports because a lot of girls like sports(such as myself)and want to become fearless. To add, girls should be able to do anything they want without someone telling us we can’t do it.