Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender bias in sports essay
a comparison and contrast essay on media coverage of female and male professional sports
gender bias in covering sports media
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Gender bias in sports essay
Why do female athletes receive less media coverage than male athletes? Male athletes dominate professional sport that airs on television. The media easily overlooks female athletes except during occasion like the Winter Olympics. The articles Media Coverage of Women’s Sports is Important (Lopiano, 2008) and Take Back the Sports Page? (Sommers, 2010) acknowledge factors that determine the amount of media coverage female athletes receive. [Lopiano and Sommers address this issue in regards to media coverage on female athletes differently. Lopiano focuses on the general message the media broadcasts and Sommers uses statistics to show the difference between female and male media. Lopiano and Sommers agree that the media considers female sports less valid. Both focus on different aspects such as problem and solutions and the different consequences of unequal media coverage]. The authors discover similar as well as different factors that contribute to the inequality media coverage of both female and male athletes obtain. Lopiano and Sommers agree that the amount of media coverage female athletes receive compared to male athletes indicates that female athletes are less valid. Lopiano and Sommers both point out that the media tends to highlight female athletes in action only during major events. Fortunately, for the male athletes, the tendency is different because no matter what time of the year it is, male events are always airing on the television. The media only decides to highlight events such as the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s basketball Final Four, Olympics, and World Cup soccer. Since the Olympic games and World Cup occurs every four years, the Final Four also known as the semi-final round are the rare eve... ... middle of paper ... ... athletes feel more secure than their female counterparts. Lopiano and Sommers create realistic, reliable and clear material that uncovers how female athletes struggle to gain media coverage. The article by Lopiano (2008) is broad and simple, while the article by Sommers (2010) is specific and precise. Overall, Lopiano and Sommers prove to be effective, straightforward, and unique sources that challenge the inconsistency of media coverage between female athletes and male athletes. Works Cited Lopiano, D. A. (2008, February 12). Media coverage of women's sports is important. Sports Management Resources. Retrieved from http://www.sportsmanagementresources.com/library/media-coverage-womens-sports Sommers, C. H. (2010, August 12). Take back the sports page? The American Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.american.com/archive/2010/august/take-back-the-sports-page/
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports. When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a Man can play, with equal skill, if not better.
To deepen our understanding of the cultural values embedded in sports and to explore current values and power structures regarding men and women, it is necessary to investigate the effect that the media may possibly have in influencing beliefs about gender-appropriate sport behavior. The media is a powerful factor which influences our beliefs, attitudes, and the values we have of ourselves and others as well as the world surrounding us. It seems that the televised coverage of athletics continues to reinforce the ongoing division between males and females, and to reproduce traditional expectations regarding femininity and masculinity.
-It has been previously discovered that through a series of discriminating and normalizing “techniques,” the American media covertly disparage and subordinate sportswomen. To what extent does the media participate in the discrimination of female athletes today, moreover, how does discrimination in sports media translate into and affect the social and athletic lives of female athletes.
The lines that separate the sexes in sport have been historically rooted in society's way of thinking. Though these lines have lately begun to fade, they are still embedded in the attitudes of the majority of the public. Women and men alike have been and still seated in their respective sports without much room or access to cross that gender line. These limitations take various forms, such as the availability of opportunities that are given to those that wish to enter certain sports to the media portrayals of athletes crossing these gender boundaries.
Throughout history, the pursuit for equality has been tough. Individuals, such as Nelson Mandela and Emma Watson, have strived for a society where race, physical appearance and gender do not distinguish a person’s social status. Despite their support, many examples of inequality still exist to this day. One example is women in sport and the belief that ”women’s sport will never be able to compete with men’s sport. Sport isn’t for women, it is for men.” The 2 main issues supporting this statement are the sexploitation of women and the portrayal and coverage of women in the media.
How females are represented through broadcast, print and/or online media can shape the public opinion of the viewers. Thus, framing what is said or written to the audiences may reflect the journalist’s or commentator’s shared public perception of females within the sport institution. This will indicate why females are being represented the way they are in relation to theories previously provided by scholars. In other words, how females are represented in the Olympics may just be a reflection of general societal perception, that may or may not be in favor of, gender equity, the underlying issue of coverage concerning females in general sport and events such as the Olympics.
The only time we see women getting attention within the media is for their sexuality and not their athletic ability. In Val Hanson’s article “The Inequality of Sports” she uses the example of Tennis player Anna Kournikova to showcase this. Hanson states: “Throughout [Kournikova] career, [she] never won a singles title in tennis, but she made an astounding $10-15 million in endorsements through modelling and exposing herself to the camera, using her attractiveness to make money and gain attention. Modelling and photo shoots rather than actual sports are what female athletes seem to be defined by” (Hanson, 17). This notion relates back to the idea of gender stereotypes in sports as women through history were suppose to focus on the way the looked oppose to being the one who played outsides with their husbands an
Frankl, Daniel. "Gender Bias in Sports: Separate and Not Equal"" Sports Media's Digest, Jan. 2005..
Rodriguez, Ana. "Female Athletes Still Face Inequality." Daily Sundial. California State University, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 2 May 2014. .
Media plays a large role in affecting peoples thinking, opinions, ideas, etc. In essence media can shape our thinking into negative views and perspectives that are typically not true. Sometimes the media plays as a puppet master to society. Specifically, the inequity of the gender roles within sports causes for a stir in commotion that calls for some attention. In doing so the inadequate misuse of media towards women in sports causes low exposure, amongst many other things. On the other hand their male counterparts are on the other end of the success spectrum. Because of this noticeable difference, it is vital that action is taken place to level out equality within sports. Due to the power of media, it is believed that a change in media coverage
Sport holds a significant place in our society. However women’s sport coverage suffers due to the positioning in newspapers, with their sporting stories often placed at the bottom of pages or at the inner, most inaccessible pages of the sports section. Women are often described in ways that stress weakness, passivity and insignificance, and in ways that...
Sports and media have benefited each other in the marketplace. While these benefits have had many positive effects, there have also been some negative or distorted views. A negative connotation is felt when the media shapes its viewers’ perception of athletes by depicting them negatively or unappreciated based on race or gender stereotypes. This negativity can be seen when the media attempts to distort the truth or avoid complete coverage. The broadcasting industry has given a biased view of athletes based on their gender or their race. One such group that the media tends to misrepresent is female athletes. Women athletes tend to get less coverage in the media than men do. Many times a commentary given about women athletes is demeaning or has sexual overtures to it. Women athletes are given credit and are only considered noteworthy because of their attractiveness...
If social views impact how the media displays women sports and female athletes, then what exactly is being represented in the media? The media displays the social views of sexism through the images and commercials they produce. Associate professor of American studies, Dr. Cheryl Cooky noted in her research on the media coverage of women’s sports, that you are “more likely to see women in bikinis versus on the field” (Cooky, 2016). Dr. Cynthia Frisby, an associate professor of strategic communications at the University of Missouri, research on the media coverage of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics supports Dr. Cooky’s statement, noting the “number of microaggressions” (of which includes sexual objectivation) “against
“We have come so far, yet we still have so far to go.” This quote by Jenni Carlson—chair of the board of the Association for Women in Sports Media—captures the true essence of this essay. There seems to be a preconceived notion floating around in today’s society that female sports journalists have broken through the gender barrier in sports reporting. While there is no denying that progress has been made over the last two decades, the fact remains that female sports reporters still have a long road ahead when it comes to achieving the same respected and prominent roles that their male counterparts currently hold. This essay focuses on dispelling the idea that women have gained complete equality in sports journalism. This paper shows the
Few would argue that women’s sports struggles for media attention. In Australia, newspapers deliver a far greater reportage on men’s sports, and when female athletes are reported on, they are often treated in an ignorant way. News stories are usually written in an exaggerated style and focus more on personal matters rather than the actual sporting performance of the female athlete. In this era of equality and open-minded attitudes, how can this be? Tonight, Media Watch reports on this issue as we examine Australian media’s representation of all-rounder, Ellyse Perry. The media’s role in society is to deliver bias-free information to people. Thus, journalists should aim to be as impartial as possible, to deliver precise information. Nonetheless this is being overlooked by many journalists and on Media Watch, we can disclose that Perry has been represented unfairly in the media and undeniably some of the stories breach the Australian Journalistic Association Code of Ethics (AJACE).