Inequality in Sports

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VICTORIA LOPEZ
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Although our world is progressing towards a more gender friendly place, there are

still many more frontiers to conquer such as the portrayal of women in sports

media. Media uses many sly tactics to indirectly say that men are superior to

women. By doing this, the media is aiding in shaping men who are sexist and

intolerant of women in sports. My own brother is a product of the influence sports

media can have on young men. He has watched ESPN daily since middle school

and over the years he developed an arrogant tone when speaking about sport,

especially women’s basketball. It is clear he does not feel women’s sports are even

sport at all which is utterly unbelievable considering he grew up in a house with 3

sisters involved in sports.

In our assigned reading (Sport, Media and Society), numerous examples of how

the media purposely employs specific methods to impart an opinion on its viewers

are given. Let’s look at the case study presented pertaining to Kelly Holmes’s

double gold victory in the 2004 Olympics (Kennedy and Hills 87). Media

immediately turned the story into something of disbelief and wonder while

forgetting the fact that Kelly is an exceptional athlete (obviously, she qualified for

the Olympics) who put countless hours of hard work to make her dreams a reality;

just like every other athlete who qualified. Reporters wielded titles such as:

‘Double Has Her Gobsmacked (Kennedy and Hills 88)’ or ‘Wake Me Up, it’s a

Dream Says Kelly (Kennedy and Hills 88).’ Terms are like ‘bridesmaid,’ ‘broken
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figure,’ and ‘fairy tale’ are used to create an incredulous attitude towards the

outcome of Kelly’s skills (Kennedy and Hills 88). Kelly was no princess riding off

to her happy ending but an army sergeant who was trained, disciplined, and

reached her goals through drawing from her own strengths and talents.

Sports media glorifies the speculation of the male body while making it almost

shameful to be a woman. Male athletes are subject to an ‘invasive medical gaze

(Kennedy and Hills 23).’ Every aspect of their body is examined and speculated

upon worldwide and is viewed as the epitome of perfect human anatomy. After

victories male players will literally strip off their shirts in celebration but god

forbid seeing a women’s nipple. During Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s

2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show a wardrobe malfunction would result in 540,000

complaints filed to the FCC (Cogan ’14). Mid performance Justin accidently pulled

down Janet’s top exposing her breast for ‘on television for 9/16 of a second (Cogan

’14).’ Janet Jackson received a severe backlash from the public in response to the

incident. Although Jackson did admit she and Timberlake had devised the ploy on

their own devices, was it really that big of a deal? Apparently, it was detrimental to

Jackson career but not to Timberlake’s which only reinforces the sexist agenda

being pushed in sports.

Another common ideology among sports speculators is that women in sports are

‘masculine or gay (Undefeated ’16).’ This causes parents to bar female children
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from certain sports in fear of them being ridiculed or “corrupted.” Lonnae O’Neal

relates that for a woman in sports, gender is not the only thing called into question,

‘it questions her humanity, they thingify (Undefeated ’16)” When athletic women

are perceived as too powerful it tends to scare people and instead of treating the

individual as a person, they are treated as a “thing.” When a male athlete is

powerful, that player receives high praise for their amazing features. These female

athletes are disrespected with no consideration for the psychological effects of this

criticism. All their effort seems unnoticed which can be heartbreaking to bear when

you’ve spent your entire life striving for excellence in that sport.

Even when women find ways to somehow break the barriers of sex through

achievement, sexism still prevails. Think about the MLB’s newest sport analyst,

Jessica Mendoza. In May of 2016 Fox Sports Radio tweeted, “ESPN’s Jessica

Mendoza is the worst. If she were a man, she’d already be fired (Boren ’16).”

Mendoza is an Olympic gold and silver medalist in softball for Team USA

meaning she knows the game she is commentating for. “She’s just not a good

announcer” according to Mike North who give no supporting evidence to back up

his claim. What makes her so horrible at analyzing? The fact that she doesn’t have

male anatomy is the unjust reason behind all the hatred.

‘Coverage of women’s sports is peppered with “disguised” sexism, according to

new research (SWNS ’17).’ In turn women’s sport seems dull and lacking in
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comparison to men’s. Coverage on women’s sports is ‘matter of fact’ and ‘new

segments on women’s sport are shorter, include fewer interviews and less

entertaining commentary (Boren ’17)’ Certain sports mediums do not even

recognize highlights in women’s games. It seems the media aims to paint women

to be boring to keep the public eye on men’s sports. Sports commentators use

language to glorify men’s sports as well as indirectly bash women’s. Women are

also offered less endorsements, which are vital in growing an industry.

According to the Journal of Brand Strategy, ‘the reason female athletes get fewer

endorsements is twofold: They aren’t featured in a way that effectively appeals to

brands’ audiences and — unfortunately — many of these elite athletes are only

really visible during the Olympics.’ A major mistake advertisers for female sports

endorsers make is sexualizing the players. Research shows bad response when

female athletes are ‘overly-sexualized (Gray ’12).’ Another reason for less

endorsements being available for female athletes is the lack of visibility of their

games. ‘Only 1.6 percent of women’s sporting events were broadcast in 2008

(Gray ’12).’ Not only are women offered less endorsements but, ‘College and

professional sports continue to provide unequal funding for women (Women’s

Sports Foundation ’15).’ Offering less pay further deters participation in sports by

female players because it sucks incentive out of the equation. Why put your body

through so much for so little reward?

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Sports also causes identity issues for feminine male athletes. Remember Bruce

Jenner, now known as Caitlin? ‘Jenner has a complex relationship with the medal

in the bathroom, in the drawer, in the box beneath the plastic case. It

commemorates extraordinary work that allowed her to withstand the pain of what

is now called gender dysphoria but then was seldom talked about at all (Layden

’16).’ Jenner struggled with finding his place in the world. During her childhood it

was not socially acceptable to be transgender. Men were expected to play sports

and be physically fit. Jenner had to make do with what she was given despite

feeling less than her true self.

Female athletes work just as hard, if not harder than male athletes. Its time they’re

recognized because let’s be honest, where would men be without women?

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Kennedy, Eileen and Laura Hills. Sport, Media and Society. Berg, 2009.

Cogan, Marin. “In the Beginning, There was a Nipple.” ESPN,

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/10333439/wardrobe-malfunction-

beginning-there-was-nipple. Assessed 20 October 2017.

“Morgan State: Dealing with sexism and sexuality.” The Undefeated,

http://theundefeated.com/videos/morgan-state-dealing-with-sexism-and-sexuality/.

Assessed 20 October 2017.

Boren, Cindy. “Fox Sports Radio tweets ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza would be fired

‘if she was a man.’” The Washington Post,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/05/09/fox-sports-

radio-tweets-espns-jessica-mendoza-would-be-fired-if-she-was-a-

man/?utm_term=.b50959187e1. Assessed 20 October 2017.

Editorial Board. Journal of Brand Strategy. Harry Stewart Publications, 2012.

Gray, Emma. “Female Athletes’ Endorsement Opportunities Hindered By

Sexualization And Lack Of Visibility, Say Researchers.” Huffpost,

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/female-athletes-endorsements-

sexualization-lack-of-visibility-research_n_1725786.html. Assessed 20 October

2017.
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“Pay Inequity in Athletics.” Women’s Sports Foundation,

https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/research/article-and-report/equity-

issues/pay-inequity/. Assessed 20 October 2017.

Layden, Tim. “An American Hero: 40 years after gold, Jenner comfortable in her

own skin.” Sports Illustrated, https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/06/28/caitlyn-

jenner-1976-olympics-gold-medal. Assessed 20 October 2017.