Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender discrimination has contributed to inequality in the media’s coverage and representation of women in sport
Effects of gender equity
Essay on gender roles negatively affecting females in sports in countries
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Gender discrimination has contributed to inequality in the media’s coverage and representation of women in sport
THE GENDER GAP IN SPORTS PERFORMANCE: EQUITY INFLUENCES EQUALITY
The article that I have chosen entitled “The Gender Gap in Sport Performance: Equity Influences Equality” written by Laura Capranica et al. (2013). This article is about the differences in athletics’ performance when both men and women are involved in sports. The authors provide facts and issues on how men and women are compared when it comes to sports. There are certain causes that relates to the gender gap in sport performances nowadays.
Sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment (Oxford Dictionary, 2018). There are plenty type of sports and all of them are governed by a set
…show more content…
They are not given high hope and targets by the society. The low media coverage given for women are resulting in less viewership and a lower fan base. Sports need the help of media for exposure and promote to increase support from people all around the world especially in this era where each and every one highly depends on media to gain information. However, the media bias against women in sports is quite obvious in the way that the events and activities are covered especially national and international ones. According to the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, women’s athletics receive only about 4 percent of all sports media coverage which is a very low count. Although the network position said that they are just giving the fans and audience what they want, they are still indirectly effecting women’s position in sports. It may seem no effect without exposure on women’s sports, but the rating and investment in it slowly reduce public fans and support. Female are not given high hope to perform in sports. Besides, another cause that affect women’s performance in sports is how women are portrayed in the media. Women have been defined in very narrow roles. Women are always seen as the family nurturer (Leonie Roderick, 2017). Tradition firmly place women in a situation where they are not as strong as men and are unable to perform on the same level as men. It is considered as a fact in the society on how people view women as who they really are. Those opinions caused confusion and women hardly change their point of
What exactly determines whether or not an activity is a sport? The term sport is defined by The Free Dictionary as: A physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively, an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively, or an active pastime; recreation.
The discrepancies in media coverage in coverage of female and children athletics have large gaps, but are gaining momentum in sharing equality. Major athletic leagues such as the NBA and FIFA World Cup have wide gaps in marketing and ratings for their male and female athletes. Children are future athletes and superstars, but as funding and coverage in athletics caters to the males, women are breaking the barriers to being in the spotlight of sport. Both genders contribute equally to athletics, and challenge the each other to accept new ideas and change. The sports world that has a single gender dominating the media is unjust.
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.
However, the discrepancy in media coverage is getting better with time. There is a realization of the importance of balanced attention with regard to gender in sports programs. Therefore, there are increased efforts to ensure that several sport programs show women participating in games. This will lead to a better perception of sports by girls. Eventually, girls will change their attitude about sports.
All of the films that we watched provided different perspectives on how the image of women is situated in our culture. From the first movie, Dare to Compete, which highlighted the development of women's participation in sports, to Love and Basketball, which fully accepts women's participation in sports, we examined a range of views and opinions on the proper role of women in sports.
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.
Throughout history, women have had to struggle for equality in all elements of our society, but no where have they had a more difficult time than in the area of athletics. Sports is a right of passage that has always been grafted to boys and men. The time has come for our society to accept women athletes and give them the attention they deserve.
Gender in sports has been a controversial issue ever since sports were invented. In the early years, sports were played only by the men, and the women were to sit on the sidelines and watch. This was another area of life exemplifying the sexism of people in which women were not allowed to do something that men could. However, over the last century in particular, things have begun to change.
The first perspective is that women are disadvantaged at any sport. Some people reiterate the difference of men and women in sports. This is influenced by strength and the natural power men hold, comparable to women. Rodriguez questions “Is this because female athletes don’t have what it takes to make it in the world of sports or could it be more of a social issue?” This perspective seems to be a social issue based on the notable skills women acquire vs. the apparent judgments of gender issues. The second perspective is the idea that women deserve and inherently earn their right of equal attention and equal pay. “Sometimes, the secret to equality is not positive discrimination, it 's equal terms. It 's the shrug of the shoulders that says "what 's the difference?" The moment worth aspiring for is not seeing people celebrate the world-class female cricketer who competes at comparatively low-level male professional cricket, but the day when people are aware that she does, and don 't find it notable at all” (Lawson). Lawson makes it a point to confirm the biased notions against women in sports and relay an alternative worth working toward and fighting for. Both outlooks can be biased but only one has factual evidence to back it up. The second perspective reviews an ongoing gender issue. This problem is welcome for change depending on society’s
In summary, Despite opponents argue, fans want to see thunderous dunks and incredible athleticism over the lesser abilities of females, male competitions is more intense and there is more at risk, and male driven associations produce more revenue than female driven associations. It is apparent that male and females are built differently therefore they have different abilities, females go through the same types of events and often have more on the line, and female athletics aren 't given the same recognition or praise. Then, maybe one day female will receive the same amount of pay as their male counterparts. As, Vera Nazarian once implied, “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”
Within todays sporting community, certain aspects of sport and its practices promote and construct ideas that sport in general is a male dominated. Sports media often provides an unequal representation of genders. Women athletes are regularly perceived as mediocre in comparison to their male equivalents (Lenskyj, 1998). Achievement in sport is generally established through displays of strength, speed and endurance, men usually set the standards in these areas, consequently woman rarely reach the level set by top male athletes. Due to this, the media significantly shows bias towards male sports while we are ill-informed about the achievements in the female sporting community. On the occasion that a female athlete does make some form of an appearance in the media, images and videos used will usually portray the female in sexually objectified ways (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). This depiction of female athletes can cause males to take focus solely on the sexual assets of the athlete in preference to to their sporting abilities (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). Sexualisation of sportswoman in the media is a prevalent issue in today’s society, it can cause physical, social and mental problems among women of all ages (Lenskyj, 1998).
Most people watch some form of sports, whether it be the Olympics or the highlights on ESPN. The NBA and NHL playoffs are underway and theyit seems to be the only news on ESPN. There is almost no coverage of the WNBA playoffs or any female athletics. Tennis isone of the only big sports on ESPN for women. While during the Olympics the coverage seems to be non-stop and close to equal. Women’s participation in sport is at an all-time high and has almost become equal with men’s, however,. sSports media does notfails to show this equality and skews the way we look at these athletes. Through the disciplines of sociology and gender studies, it can be seen that despite the many gains of women in sports since the enactment of Title IX, “traditional” notions of masculinity and femininity still dominate media coverage of males and females in sports, which is observed in Olympic programming and sports news broadcasts.
Gender bias in media is a problem with multiple different aspects. Statistics show that 40% of all athletes are women, but they receive just 4% of media coverage (The Statistics). Secondly, a recent analysis found that of 6,503 sports photos taken by national newspapers, only 78 were of females (Media Coverage). What are the reasons toward such uneven coverage? Females participating in athletics get more attention to their physical appearance than their actual ability to perform the sport. Athletes that are not considered appealing or attractive are commonly disregarded and forgotten by the media. In addition, female athlete’s are often compared to male athletes in their same sport, and ignored for their real ability because not as impressive as their male counterparts (Low Female). For years, women have not only been fighting equal treatment and coverage, but also discrimination and sexism. Media’s coverage of female athlete’s is a problem that can be solved by closer to equal coverage in the press, and more attention on actual ability than physical appearance.
Whether its baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or tennis, sports is seen all over the world as a representation of one’s pride for their city, country, and even continent. Sports is something that is valued world-wide which has the ability to bring communities together and create different meanings, beliefs and practices between individuals. Although many people may perceive sports to have a significant meaning within our lives, it can also have the ability to separate people through gender inequalities which can also be represented negatively throughout the media. This essay will attempt to prove how gender is constructed in the sports culture while focusing on female athletes and their acceptance in today’s society.
Women in Sports Challenges appear to be part of the human experience. In the course of history, very little has come easily. The progress that women have made in sport in the United States over the course of the last 100 years seems remarkable for the amount achieved in so little time. In relation to the other advances made in this century, including men's sport, that achievement dims. While women have made great advances, they haven't, in comparison, come that far.