Sexualization Of Women In Sports Essay

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Society has always portrayed women athletes in two ways: the wholesome, girl next door or the sexy vixen (Ewing & Grady, 2013). This means that women athletes are either cute girls with a big smile and no threat to men due to their stature or they are tall, curvy, sexual creatures that all men wish they could have and all women wish they could be. These two personas left women limited in the sports they could do because it was believed that “unlimited indulgence in violent, outdoor sports” such as hockey or football would “have an unwomanly effect on a young girl’s mind” or appearance (Trolan, 219). This couldn’t happen because if it did then the masculinity of men would be challenged. Through dominant ideology and mass media, one can see that the sexualizing of female athletes is a phenomenon that has been happening for century’s and still …show more content…

The sexualizing of women athletes is a way to keep power in the hands of men. This is because by sexualizing and showing women as objects of desire they are showing that their worth is that of an object instead of a human being. A woman can be an extremely talented athlete but if she isn’t pretty then she won’t make nearly the same amount of money as a man. Dominant ideology is the idea that a “set of cultural beliefs and practices… help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests (Schaefer, 54). The practice of sexualizing women athletes is an example of dominant ideology. Women can have two personas in the media: The All-American Girl and the vixen. All too often we see the vixen featured instead of the girl next door. Anna Kournikova is an example of a female athlete that has the persona as the vixen and made a lot of money by doing so. Anna was a famous tennis player who competed in a lot of big tournaments. She received tons of endorsements through the sexuality she used at the center of her marketing strategy. These endorsements were given to her because of her looks instead of her talent.

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