The Media in which we Live(d) in.
(MMA Fighter, Michelle Waterson)
If you compare the present day to forty years ago, woman are participating in sports, at a professional level, that seem unrealistic back then. In reference to forty years ago, there are also far more social media sites, online blog networks, broadcasts, and much more now than there ever was before. Even the little things such as the quality of the broadcasts have increased along with other things such as camera angles, replys, quality, and those who commentate the games. Even within the last twenty years, regardless of the dramatic drop of female athlete photos from 1994 to 1996, equality in sports for women have greatly improved. Despite this progress, there is still an unfair gender equality in American sports in reference to media attention and coverage. Although the participation in women sports have increased, there has not been much increase in the coverage of women sports in newspapers, magazines, highlight shows, or even the televised news.
In 1989, Messner, Duncan, and Jensen found gender bias in the coverage of six NCAA tournament basketball games and stated that,"During the basketball broadcasts, the announcers mentioned the female players' sex seventy-seven times, but never mentioned the sex of the male basketball players." They had also claimed that the commentators usually attributed shots made by a female to luck and not skill. Female athletes were portrayed as "weak" and "non-threatening" to the male athletes, therefore, giving power back to the men in a male dominated society. Ronald Bishop later did a study of his own, where he compared the amount of coverage that women received in the "featured" articles in Sports Illustrated. He found that there was only a increase from the 1960s and 1970s up to the 1990s in the coverage of women in Sports Illustrated, but the increase was very insignificant because it was not a big increase.
In 1989, Messner, Duncan, and Jensen found gender bias in the coverage of six NCAA tournament basketball games and stated that,"During the basketball broadcasts, the announcers mentioned the female players' sex seventy-seven times, but never mentioned the sex of the male basketball players." They had also claimed that the commentators usually attributed shots made by a female to luck and not skill. Female athletes were portrayed as "weak" and "non-threatening" to the male athletes, therefore, giving power back to the men in a male dominated society. Ronald Bishop later did a study of his own, where he compared the amount of coverage that women received in the "featured" articles in Sports Illustrated. He found that there was only a increase from the 1960s and 1970s up to the 1990s in the coverage of women in Sports Illustrated, but the increase was very insignificant because it was not a big increase.
(Olympian, Leryn Franco)
In 2010, sociologists Michael Messner and Cheryl Cooky found that in 2009, ESPN dedicated one hundred segments and over three hours on the men's tournament and only eleven segments which totaled six and a half minutes on the women's tournament. They also found that the televised news media coverage of women's sports in general was at an all time low within twenty years. In 2009, it only accounted for two percent of televised news coverage. What could be a reason for this?
Typically, now, when female athletes do receive mainstream media attention in magazines, they're usually seen posing in sexual ways to attract audiences. Audiences are more likely to see a female athlete in a bathing suit than in her sport uniform. Every year, Sports Illustrated features female athlete's in their "Swimsuit Issue" which has been their best-selling issue. This issue has included many top female athletes, such as famous tennis player Serena Williams and race car driver Danica Patrick. Although these issues give female athletes some kind of media attention, they promote "sex" more than they promote female athleticism.
Typically, now, when female athletes do receive mainstream media attention in magazines, they're usually seen posing in sexual ways to attract audiences. Audiences are more likely to see a female athlete in a bathing suit than in her sport uniform. Every year, Sports Illustrated features female athlete's in their "Swimsuit Issue" which has been their best-selling issue. This issue has included many top female athletes, such as famous tennis player Serena Williams and race car driver Danica Patrick. Although these issues give female athletes some kind of media attention, they promote "sex" more than they promote female athleticism.