Women In Mass Media's Sexualization Of Female Athletes

Since the 20th century, female athletes have made enormous strides to improve their status. Before these efforts were and achievements were made, female athletes had to play in much poorer facilities under different rules and with stricter dress codes than male athletes. Not only did the sports managers hate against them, the society discriminated because they followed what the sporting managers thought. The society portrayed them as masculine rather than feminine due to the sport they play and the pictures that are posted of them. After noticing these problems, women attempted to reverse these trends and produce better chances for female athletes to play the game they love without being looked at in a way they did nto feel comfortable. By …show more content…
I want to link this paragraph the Berger and our views on the topic as well. I want to try and see if I can word it to where our own views get in without stating the word I or WE.) What does not help the problem is the ESPN “Body issue” which sets goals for certain female athletes. Numerous problems remain to be addressed and solved. One of the most important issues today is the media’s sexualization of female athletes. Unlike men, women do not have the luxury of being primarily portrayed as athletes because their beauty and sex appeal usually dominates their on-field activities. Female athletes get portrayed in the wrong way sometimes because of the photos they take. Granted, they are the ones that agree to take the pictures, but they are not the ones who choose what to wear or how to pose. Portraying female athletes as result of the certain poses, clothing or even nude photos that are in magazines and commercials symbolizes a women first and as an athlete second. This way it shows both sides of the athlete. By showing female athletes who prioritize sex appeal over athleticism, they are not only degraded in athletic accomplishments, but sometimes hinder the athlete’s personal image. (Bae, John) The media’s sexualization of female athletes originated from sexist social norms. In a 1993 study, Michael Messner, a University of Southern California professor who focuses on gender and sociology in sports, recorded basketball games and tennis matches to compare the reporters’ commentary about men and women. He found that by constantly displaying some sort of female trait on the screen it reminded viewers that they were watching women’s games. (Messner) The commentators made it a point to make sure the viewers knew they were watching a female event. Thus, the sexualization of female athletes could just be a side effect of how the media must differentiate between the two

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Women In Mass Media's Sexualization Of Female Athletes

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