The Image of Women in Sports Today Essay

While participation of women in sports has increased, the media representation of women in sports remains problematic. Even the most talented elite female athletes like Michelle Kwan and Monica Seles are portrayed in a sexual fashion, as a way of deemphasizing their athleticism and neutralizing any possible threat they might seem to pose to male viewers. Very few male athletes are portrayed in such an objectified manner; they are portrayed as competitors first and foremost, not as personalities. Also, the media coverage of athletes is disproportionately focused on male athletes. The coverage of female athletes tends to stress individualized female sports where women can be sexualized like tennis and figure skating, versus competitive team sports like basketball and soccer.

Traditionally women were viewed as equipped to participate in sports, and their involvement was viewed as unfeminine and undesirable. This Article Examples the women were viewed as unfeminine to the sports that men play and undesirable. Young girls who are given an early opportunity to participate in sports may be more prepared for the male in classrooms. Even though women have often been relegated to second-hand citizenship in the same socializing, integration, statues, and recognition that benefit male athletes. (By; Sandra L. Hanson)

Women have struggled for more than two centuries to be taken serious as professionals. There should not be a double standard in sports especially if it is loved and played by both genders. Over the years, females have competed against the stereotype of being too fragile both mentally and physically to play strenuous sports. The passion and work ethic of the female professional athletes is just as strong as the males and everyone should be treated equal and be able to have a chance at making a better living for themselves as well as their family. One area that still faces a continual struggle in sports is gender equality. Female

The role of women in society during the 1800s were to respect their husbands and be house wives. No life expectations were placed upon these women other than being a loyal wife to their husbands. Furthermore, the sports that were practised in school were light and gentle drills to prepare the girls for marriage and motherhood. However, a very small amount of the sports were open to women which lead to little amounts of women participation in sports. Even if the women had the talent or the dreams to become accepted in a certain sport, they were either humiliated by people in society or they were just plainly embarrassed to have taken a liking to a certain sport. Moreover, there was a certain type of body figure that every women strived to have, and this was the hourglass figure. This impacted the type of clothing they wore while playing sport to socialise. These clothing were heavy and modest which covered up much of their skin so these women did not show any inappropriate parts of their body.

Many years ago and until recently people did not really accept the fact that women could play sports as well as men, or even play at all. Over the years, people started to accept some women as athletes at some sports, but not all of them. Sports like rugby, football and handball were only played by men. Nowadays, however, you could easily find a women playing football and many other sports they never used to play better than any of the men you know. People changed their perspective of women being involved in sports when they would see how capable the women were of being good at a sport they play. Women were not allowed at the first olympics ever played but

In today’s world, men’s sports seem to always be in the spotlight while women’s sports do not draw much attention, as if women who play sports are not taken seriously. This happens on all levels of sports, and I have personally experienced it myself through basketball in high school. While the gym would be full for any of the boys’ games, our games had very little support with almost empty bleachers. When it comes to the professional level, when women’s sports do get covered by the media, most people judge female athletes more on their looks rather than their athletic skill, which is negative and unfair.

The history of sexism in the Olympics is traced back to the first Olympic games in 1896. Women were forbidden from participating in the first games because their attendance was concluded to be unnecessary. The first games were meant to show masculinity, and women were not able to display that. Therefore, it is determined that women would not be entertaining enough to compete in the games. Over the years

Female athletes constantly battle to adhere to the feminine social role, as well as the masculine athletic role that accompanies all levels of sport (Martin & Martin, 1995). These stereotypical roles are portrayed in the media frames imposed upon society, and they are contributing to the role conflict experienced by many young females. It is important to understand the media frames utilized in sports magazines, so the public, especially young athletes, will have the knowledge they need to identify these frames and counteract the damaging effects they may cause. With a better understanding of what frames are used to portray female athletes and women’s sports, it may be possible to increase public awareness concerning the framing issue, counteract these damaging frames, and change the public’s opinion regarding female athletes and women’s sports. The media also differ in how they frame female and male athletes in terms of attractiveness versus achievement, which devalues female athletes by emphasizing their appearance over athletic accomplishments (Knight & Giuliano, 2001; Carty, 2005).

There has been a change in the way certain gender sports were viewed when women/men attempted to challenge the boundaries. Gymnastics for example began as an all-male sport. It was believed that women did not have the build nor strength to compete in this sport. In 1928 were women allowed to compete in the Olympics in

The sports world has been a new area where women are recognized. In previous times women’s sports were almost non-existent. In schools many girl teams did not receive adequate funds for uniforms and equipment. Boys sports were much more popular, such as football or basketball. If a girl wanted to play a guy sport she would be labeled as a

This study reveals much about the attitudes that persist in society today regarding sport and gender. Early on, sport was created to serve men, evolving as a celebration of maleness, valuing strength, power, and competition. It idealized, promoted, and rewarded successful, elite athletes, established “the dream” as a professional career in sports, and viewed mass participation in sport as a tool to weed out the weak (Hill, 1993). In contrast, women’s sports originated to “address the expressed need for healthful exercise” (Huckaby, 1994). Unlike the competitive warrior mode

The adverse topic of women in sports stems from society's disregard to viewing women as persons. Women were, and in other parts of the world continue to be viewed as property of men and have no significant role in society. Being allowed into the Olympics was a step in the right direction for women across the world, but it was meager attempt equality. Women were still restricted by what events they were allowed to compete in, how they were trained and coached and even limited as to what they could wear. A woman’s femininity played a large role in the way they were perceived by society; weak. Women were seen as incommensurate to men and it was something that has taken us centuries to reverse. Today, women are given the rights we should have

Men Vs. Women in Professional Sports      Ever since the ancient Greece, men have held athletic competitions or sports. It is only in modern times that women have had an opportunity to compete. Most sports still don’t have men and women directly competing against one another. In the past athletic instructors adapted the rules to make sports less physically taxing for women. For instance in basketball, to ensure that girls maintain proper decorum, they were forbidden from snatching the ball and dribbling it more than three times in row. Females would not be considered strong enough to play a full-court basketball game until 1971. Women have struggled to be taken seriously as athletes for more than two centuries.

In the last one hundred years women have made tremendous inroads in many facets of life. Of that there can be little doubt. Women may now hold jobs, own property and participate in professional sports. Today women can compete in sports, once a vestige of male domination; there is now room for women in that arena. But even today women in sports are not portrayed in the same light as their male counterparts. To a large degree this is because of today's cultural ideal of women.

Similarly women are receiving less attention and media coverage than men. When someone puts on the television and turns on a sports game, it is most likely going to be a men’s sport. Even when females get their coverage, the commentators are usually talking about their body rather than their skill. In an article, “Examination of Gender Equality and Female Participation in Sport” by Joshua A. Senne, he talks about how women are referred by their appearance rather than their skill. During a study about the media, the commentators mostly talked about the women’s hair, make-up, and body figure, rather than their ability. This also occurred after the 1996 summer Olympics, where there was a lack of promotion for female athletes and the marketing of women’s sports. These athletes were also only recognized by their physical appearance instead of their ability. The tone of these broadcasters was proved in a study that men 's events were the standard in the society rather than the women’s. They would list the event as “other” rather than saying it is a women’s sport. In the study that was conducted, it states that the gender marketing showed that the woman sports were marked as “other” on an average of 27.5 times, but it 's never happened in the men’s sporting events (Senne). There is still coverage of women 's sports, but it rarely covered. The title IX project made a pie chart about the comparison of men’s and women’s sports media coverage on the show SportsCenter on