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Gender issues in sports
How do celebrities impact society
Gender issues in sports
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Introduction Celebrities are a ubiquitous feature of modern-day culture. The Celebrity is not only displayed as an image of success, but also can represent an outline of misleading significance. Marshall (1997) suggests that Celebrities are an irregular case of bias and prejudice that create conflict between a “democratic culture of access and a consumer capitalist culture of excess.” However, what are the conditions of, and what defines a celebrity in today’s society? According to Turner (2004), “celebrities will regularly emerge from both the sport and entertainment industries in contemporary life.” Around the world, sport is an increasingly prevalent activity and sporting figures, sports teams and sport events are notably being portrayed more and more frequently in the media. Due to this, these athletes have been exposed and signified as celebrities. Analyst Antoun (2011) detailed that sport is located in a ‘deep area of the collective sensibility,’ (p.138) and high-profile sportspeople’s fame and persona cuts across all means of social, political and cultural spectrums (Smart, 2005). There is a major correlation between …show more content…
After reviewing relevant literature, the two theses of this essay is to argue how the media depicts high-profile sportspeople to make economical value and why gender differences in sports players play a huge role in discrimination into celebrity status and fame. The essay will cover the following topics: the economy of celebrity, and the cultural politics of celebrity which are two main issues involved in the present society. (Number) high-profile sportspeople (Tim Cahill, Lleyton Hewitt, Shane Webcke) will be used as examples to help articulate the essay’s argument reflecting on their personal success and implementing that as evidence to help support claims made from the
A celebrity is not a person known for his/her talent or achievement, but an individual recognized for his/her reputation created by the media. The phase of stardom is slippery, and media may choose to represent celebrities varying from exaggerated admiration to mockery. The three texts chosen, movie "Sunset Boulevard", feature article "Over the Hilton" and television show "Celebrity Uncensored Six" are texts presenting different perception of celebrities than their usual images - either corrupted by the encircling media, overloads oneself with self-indulgence, or just mocks celebrity in a broad spectrum. Such media items empower and impresses the audience by perceiving celebrities as people who pay the price of privacy to gain well knowness, signifying the vanity of stardom from the commonly accepted images.
The business of sports marketing has become both lucrative and influential in shaping sport in general and the individual athletes. The desire for endorsement offers and profitable media coverage has become a crucial facet of modern sport. With a selection of athletes making millions of dollars a year, outside of their sporting arena, it is obvious to see the impact of marketing and advertising on sport. In this essay I will examine the ways in which marketing effects the athletes and sport in general. Also, I will identify the characteristics of a marketable sporting "celebrity" and further look into African American athletes specifically and the way the African American community is marketed.
...ennis, basketball, soccer, and martial arts—have come from the days of cheerleading and synchronized swimming when she was growing up in the ’70s.” Disparities in media coverage and over-sexualized female athletes on magazine covers is something that needs to come to an end because of its effects on both male and female viewers, young and old, athletes and non-athletes. Both female and male athletics influence young people and shape their personality and morals as they mature. Retired WNBA player, Lisa Leslie credits her participation in basketball with shaping her character, as well as her career. “Sports can also help teenagers during an awkward time in their development.” (“Women’s Athletics: A Battle For Respect”). The solution is to come together as a society and identify how to balance the respect for female and male athletes in the media.
Marshall P. David (1997). Celebrity Power; Fame in Contemporary Culture. May 16, 2010. Electronically retrieved from
As celebrities stand distinctively among the masses and cast out their halos of personality charm and strong suits of skilled abilities, the controversies about them are unavoidable shadows created from their fame. With the popularization of celebrity culture, information synchronization, and communication technology, their lives are publicly exposed and various forms of media (depending on eras) record their flaws. Tough information transmitted to audiences are frequently biased, evidences of objective reality remains, even in the remote past.
celebrity may be found in the words of one of America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, who wrote, ‘‘The rewards . . . in this life are steem and admiration of others—the punishments are neglect and contempt. The desire of the esteem of others is as real a want of nature as hunger—and the neglect and contempt of the world as severe as a pain.” (Price, 463). The author suggests that fame is not at all w...
To fully discuss these topics, it is best to define what a celebrity and a psuedo-event is. The term ‘celebrity’ is often linked to ‘fame’, ‘stardom’, and ‘renown’. Development of mass media, during the twentieth century, including newpapers, radio, television, and now the Internet, gave rise to celebrity culture in the Western world. Media and publicity industries facilitate a growth of the ways the audience can consume celebrities after the creation, circulation, and promotion in the media (Drake and Miah). The celebrity, a represen...
According to author Michael Oriard, “Heroism is something more than celebrity, the hero as someone who embodies qualities we admire and wish to emulate, who ultimately represents his people in their highest aspiration (20).” It involves having the ability to connect with all levels of people while fighting for an underlying purpose. This was the core of Muhammad Ali and the principles he stood for throughout his career as a boxer. The term hero is used today to describe celebrities, sports figures, or even political leaders. Generations are suffocated and largely influenced by the heroes of their time, but rarely do we see impacts of heroes affect multiple generations of people. In the 1990’s the sporting world was captured by Mark McGuire and his historical race to become Major League baseball’s single season homerun king. Michael Jordan become the first modern day mass media sports hero by winning six National Basketball Association championships from 1991-1998 (Ventures). Jordan’s success on the court led to an international fame that was spread due to the rise in mass media around the world. In Oriard’s article about Jordan and Ali he mentions that, “He (Jordan) embodies the dazzling grace, beauty, creativity, and competitiveness that feed the fantasies of children and inspire awe in adults (Oriard 13).” However, it must be clear that to become a hero of multiple generations and gain support amongst all races, genders, social classes, and religions it requires more than just the impressive grace of performing on an athletic field. Mark Kram wrote an article for Sports Illustrated in 1975 that can summarize Ali’s influences: “His followers cut across all class lines. There are the moneyed, who must always be near success. There is the white middle class, that huge engine of society that once so rejected him but now jockeys for position with the miniature cameras and ballpoint pens (26).” The drama and tragedy of Ali’s career allowed him to
Hyman, Michael R., and Sierra, Jeremy J. "Sport Celebrity Idolatry: A Problem?." B>Quest (2009): 1-7. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
According to Epstein, a celebrity is something or someone who can be talented and full of achievements and yet wish to broadcast ones fame further through the careful cultivation of celebrity, while one can be the total opposite of achievements and be less talented and yet still be made seem otherwise through the mechanics and dynamics of celebrity creation (Epstein2). Celebrity culture today is epidemic; some might agree that it is sweeping up America in a harmful way, while one might argue that it is beneficial to our society. Over the last few decades, celebrity and fame has changed dramatically, from Alexander the Great to Kim Kardashian. Talent and achievements no longer play a huge role when it comes to celebrities. “Much modern celebrity seems the result of careful promotion or great good looks or something besides talent and achievement” (Epstein2) with that being said celebrity-creation has blossomed into an industry of its own.... ...
In today’s day and age we live in a society obsessed with celebrity culture. This however, is not a new addiction; our society’s fascination with celebrity culture has been around for decades. Through the years, we’ve seen fandom come in various forms, shapes and sizes. From the groupies of the 60s, to the more recent digital-followers, one thing common among all fans is the pedestal on which they’ve put their favorite celebrity. Some people would argue that fans are not only the most important part of a celebrity’s life, but fans are quintessential in their success. Fans admire them, follow their every move: physical or electronic, and purchase anything and everything that might bring them in looking/feeling more like their desired celebrity. Many experts even believe that fan and fan-clubs often resemble religions. One can easily note the similarities between fans and a religious cult; from worshipping to organizing conventions and event recruiting new followers. To some it might even sound like a disorder, and Dr. Lynn McCutcheon after her intense research, was the first one to coin the term: (CWS) Celebrity Worship Syndrome. According to Psychology Today, CWS can be described as a mental-disorder where an individual becomes completely obsessed with the details of the personal life of a celebrity (Griffiths). A celebrity, as defined by Mark Griffiths, can be any person who is present in the ‘public eye’, including Politicians, authors, and journalists, but according to Dr. McCutcheon research they are more likely to be someone from the world of television, film and/or pop music. Continuing on Justin Bieber’s ad campaign, this paper examines the peculiar relationship between consumers and God-like celebrity figures. It showcase...
We are part of a generation that is obsessed with celebrity culture. Celebrities are distinctive. Media and consumers alike invented them to be a different race of super beings: flawless, divine and above all the real moral world. In a 1995 New York Times article “In contrast, 9 out of 10 of those polled could think of something
Movie stars. They are celebrated. They are perfect. They are larger than life. The ideas that we have formed in our minds centered on the stars that we idolize make these people seem inhuman. We know everything about them and we know nothing about them; it is this conflicting concept that leaves audiences thirsty for a drink of insight into the lifestyles of the icons that dominate movie theater screens across the nation. This fascination and desire for connection with celebrities whom we have never met stems from a concept elaborated on by Richard Dyer. He speculates about stardom in terms of appearances; those that are representations of reality, and those that are manufactured constructs. Stardom is a result of these appearances—we actually know nothing about them beyond what we see and hear from the information presented to us. The media’s construction of stars encourages us to question these appearances in terms of “really”—what is that actor really like (Dyer, 2)? This enduring query is what keeps audiences coming back for more, in an attempt to decipher which construction of a star is “real”. Is it the character he played in his most recent film? Is it the version of him that graced the latest tabloid cover? Is it a hidden self that we do not know about? Each of these varied and fluctuating presentations of stars that we are forced to analyze create different meanings and effects that frame audience’s opinions about a star and ignite cultural conversations.
Sports stars earn substantial incomes compared to an average Australian worker. The official benchmark of average Australian earnings is just above AUS$50,000. However, compared to Layton Hewitt, who receives millions in endorsements and prize money each year, this figure is diminutive. Another example is Venus Williams, 20, is the highest-paid woman athlete in the world. She has a contract with sportswear manufacturer Reebok International Inc. that pays her $40 million over five years. This may seem as a step forward for womankind but others view it as a business deal for more money than one will ever need. The disparity between hard working citizens and sporting legends leads us to question their contribution to society.
According to Steven Knowlton, author of Moral Reasoning for Journalists, "Celebrities of all sorts-musicians, athletes, entertainers, and others-make their living from the public and the public therefore in a sense employs them, just as it employs governors and presidents..."(54). Most journalists figure that celebrities voluntarily surrender their pr...