Representation Of Women In Sports Essay

Words: 538
Pages: 3

Female athletes, as a group, were missing or misrepresented in the sports section of the newspaper. Sociologist of the social cultural aspects of sport, Jo Ann M. Buysse, and sociologist of gender inequality and social justice, Melissa S. Embser-Herbert, wrote the article, “Constructions of Gender in Sport: An Analysis of Intercollegiate Media Guide Cover Photographs” which explored the misrepresentation of women in sports during the early twentieth century. They state that while photographs in the twenty-first century have improved in their efforts to fairly represent women, they argue that female athletes have been mispresented in newspapers and other forms of media which influenced readers to not take female athletics seriously. Buysse and …show more content…
Oftentimes she is not even shown in uniform. Uniforms in those days for female athletes did not have a team name on it, unlike male athletes. Usually the only way to determine the team players were the fact that the women wore the same outfit. Furthermore, those outfits were constrictive and full coverage which made it difficult for the women to move freely. The photographs below show the difference in female athletes versus the previously shown male athletes. The most notable thing about three of the four photographs is that they are of tennis. Tennis was one of the few sports that men had no contest to women playing. The first two photographs show women idly standing by, while it is clear what game they are playing, they are not shown in an action shot. Figure 1, depicts the Women’s Tennis Team of Berkeley College in 1920. The athletes are wearing uniforms. However, the skirts and sleeves are long to maximize skin coverage. Figure 2, is a tennis team as well. This photograph was taken fifty years prior to the one from Berkeley. It is evident that the women are not wearing uniforms and their clothing is heavier and more restrictive than the Berkeley