The Portrayal of Female Athletes in the Media
By: Jordan Bernstein
Female/African American Sports Commentators
Sports broadcasting is still predominately a white male industry; females and African Americans are virtually nonexistent. Female reporters do not get as much air time as male reporters.
Female/African American Sports Commentators Con’t.
There are not very many female or African American commentators. “White females and African American males each account for only 10% of sports commentators’ African American females account for 3% of announcers” (Messner). When a female does actually get to report a sports event, she never gets the opportunity to report the “play-by-play” of the game.
Female Athletes
The media gives a bad name and image to female athletes. For example, ESPN rarely ever shows women sports. ESPN “devotes a mere 3% of news time to women’s sports” (Messner).
Female Athletes Con’t.
They are mostly portrayed as sex symbols, supportive spouses, or spectators. When featured, female athletes are shown differently then male athletes. “These women are routinely shown off court, out of uniform and in highly sexualized poses” (quoted in Holste).
Female Athletes Con’t.
Female Athletes are Put into Categories:
Out of Context Wives and Mothers Soft Porn Dehumanizes and Fragments Female Athletes
Brandi Chastain
Brandi Chastain is a U.S. Women’s Soccer player who scored the winning goal in 1999 for the world championship. “Instead of putting the spotlight on the issue of the glorious championship the 1999 U.S. Women’s Soccer team just won, the very next day USA Today put a story on the front page about how Chastain’s actions were inappropriate” (Adams).
African American Athletes
The portrayal of African American athletes in media generally does not come across very well and is quite similar to the way females are portrayed. The public usually hears of the crimes that African American athletes commit, and don’t watch or cheer for one in an athletic event and the same is not true for white athletes. The way in which the media portrays African American athletes, affects the way in which the public views them.
African American Athletes Con’t.
In the year 2000, only 3% of all African American athletes were in trouble with the law. However, the media broadcasted so much publicity towards this 3% that the public looks down on all of the African American athletes. “The media has effectively undermined the image of all professional black athletes” (Black Athletes).
Problems for Female Sports Reporters
Locker room access
There have been several incidents of harassment of women in locker rooms. For example, Kristen Huckshom witnessed and under went many incidents such as “a football player running a razor up [her] leg; [she] received a rat in a pink box, sent by a player; [and] being hit with jockstraps and having obscenities yelled at [her]” (Empowering Women in Sports). This was not the only incidents that harassment has occurred and unfortunately it’s probably not the last time either.
Sports Commentators
Play an important role in how the public views sports and/or the athletes. Whether male or female, commentators have an effect on the public, through their actions and reactions to different athletes. Most of the athletes affected by this are females and African Americans.
Athletics are a Major Part of Today’s Society
The media plays a very significant role in informing the public of news, sports, and other useful information. This is extremely true of athletes because of how the media portrays them.
Many Forms of Media
Most common:
Seen on T.V. in the local and national news, such as Dateline or Nightline Documentaries ESPN or Sports Center On the radio In periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers
Portrayal of Athletes
How these athletes are portrayed may have a deciding factor in whether or not a person watches a certain game or even the sport. Even if a person is not very interested in sports, he/she generally knows what is happening in an athlete’s life from the media.
The Message of Discrimination By Males
This message has people view males as being superior over women and that females are intruders. Pat Griffin, who works for the social justice education program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, states that, “according to this view, women must be subordinated and cannot be shown as men’s equals” (quoted in Holste).
Fighting During an Athletic Event
Sends a violent message to the public. Near-fights, threats of fights, fights, or any other violent actions are generally covered in sports highlights. Sports commentators talk about such violent action in a jokingly manner, which gives the public the impression that it’s acceptable.
Effects on Children that Watch Sports
From the media portraying females as sex objects and not athletes, and also African American athletes as criminals, it may have a strong effect on the children that hear and see such images. A study conducted in 1999 by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles found that “98% of U.S. boys ages 8 to 17 consume some form of sports-related media, 82% do so at least a couple of times a week, and 90% watch televised sports” (Messner)
Effects on Children that Watch Sports Con’t.
“While a full range of American boys watch sports, the effects of their media consumption may differ depending on who they are and what messages are being sent” (Messner). It has been studied that “boys are five more times more likely than girls to watch sports programs on a regular basis” (Messner). Out of these boys, across all races, one out of three will watch sports every single day.
Portrayal of All Athletes in the Media
Sports commentators, male reporters, and programs need to be equal for all athletes. Sports play a major role in the lives of the majority of this nation’s population. Sports commentators, male reporters, and programs are sending the wrong messages to the entire public, including children, that males should be masculine only, females should be pretty only, and that African Americans are all criminals. In which, these three stereotypes are not correct.