When
we look at sports coverage anymore, we can see a marked difference in the way
that men and women are portrayed onscreen. The most significant difference is
the overt sexuality that the media tries to plaster on all forms of advertising
for women’s sports. This was clearly seen in the coverage of the 2012 London
Olympics this past summer. While some people were looking forward to watching
the extreme sports spectacle, there were many who were mainly looking forward
to the revealing women’s sports outfits and uniforms. In an article from the Daily
News, Christina Boyle writes of beach volleyball, “Even the Mayor of London
Boris Johnson has embraced the sport, writing in a newspaper editorial that the
sight of "semi-naked women" who are "glistening like wet
otters" is one of the top 20 reasons the Games are already a resounding
success.”
Throughout
the games there were a variety of references to sexuality and appearances that
competed with actual sports reporting. The Hollywood Reporter even posted a photo
gallery called the Superficial Person’s
Guide to the Olympics that highlighted the nails on the women in the games
as well as their “sexy posteriors” and even went on to objectify the men in the
games as well stating, “As statuesque male chests got the once-overs (exhibit
A: U.S. swim-team hotties) and female bottoms usurped the attention from their
tops, it seems the tables have upended.” It is this kind of reporting that begs
the question, what are we really watching sports for? And are people tuning into
women’s sports for the game or for the bodies? I think it is safe to say that
most of us who do watch women’s sports actually have some interest in the
actual game but do advertisers play to that interest?
When
we look at sports advertising we never see women in anything but revealing
outfits. An article by the Pittsburgh Post, Sex
Sells Sex: Not Women's Sports, highlights one of the most blatant uses of
women athletes as sex objects by one of the worst offenders, Sports
Illustrated. After Lindsay Vonn won gold in alpine skiing at the Vancouver
Winter Olympics, Vonn was given the cover that “Rather than emphasize her
singular athletic talent, the magazine depicted Ms. Vonn in a posed phallic
photograph, smiling at the camera in her ski regalia backside arched at a
45-degree angle while superimposed over a mountain peak.” The article also goes
on to say that marketers and sports journalists “believe that reaffirming
traditional notions of femininity and sexuality is a critical sales strategy.
This approach, the argument goes, reassures (especially male) fans, corporate
sponsors and TV audiences that females can engage in highly competitive sports
while retaining a nonthreatening femininity.” The author of this article, Mary
Jo Kane, actually went on to conduct a series of focus groups at the University
of Minnesota based on gender and age where there were several age groups and
both genders represented. They were show photos of female athletes wearing all
sorts of clothing ranging from wholesome to soft-core pornography. The results
were very straight forward, all audiences were not fans of the sexy pictures of
the athletes and were more interested in the ones that showed athletic
competence, “both younger and older females, as well as older males, were
offended by hypersexualized images. One older male said: "If she [Serena
Williams in a sexually provocative pose] were my sister I'd come in, slap the
photographer, grab her and leave."
So
does what makes women’s sports attractive, sex or athleticism? Most studies
point out sex as the number one reason for women’s sports viewership. This also
moves into endorsements as well as the Nielson, “State of the Media: 2011 Year
in Sports” reveals when they state that Danica Patrick is among the top five
Nascar endorsers, who is most known for her ultra sexy Go Daddy commercials. (9)
These commercials are notorious for being barely suitable for broadcast
networks when it comes to provocative advertising. When looking at not only the
uniforms for women’s sports but the way they are advertised it is clear the
type of audience they are looking to bring in. So my last question to you would
be is this an ethical way to advertise women’s sports, or should they be more
focused on the sport itself?
Works Cited:
Kane, Mary J.
"Sex Sells Sex, Not Women's Sports Yet Sports Coverage Systematically
Focuses on the Athletic Exploits of Men and the Sexiness of Women." Pittsburgh Post - GazetteAug 28 2011. ProQuest. Web. 7 Apr. 2013 .
Boyle, Christina. "Olympics 2012: Beach Volleyball
Players ‘glistening like Wet Otters’ Says Mayor of London as They Blast Benny
Hill Music in Skimpy Uniforms."The
Daily News [New York] 21 July 2012: n. pag. Print.
Ginsberh, Merie. "The Superficial Person's Guide to the Olympics." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 6 Aug. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.
"State of
the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielson,
n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.
Stephanie Griffin
ReplyDeleteLauren,
Your topic was very interesting, and one I have discussed in previous classes as well. Unfortunately, we have learned something about the media is sex does sell- this is evident through female sports. Personally, I agree with you in the sense people try to portray a sexual aspect of a woman’s sport to attract viewers and advertisers. Without the “sexual” aspect behind the sport, it would seem boring to some. One aspect that Arthur A. Raney brings up in his article, “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports” is one of the reasons people watch sports on an emotional level are for self-esteem. He notes, “Many report viewing sporting events because the events provide an opportunity for the viewers to increase their self esteem. In other words, viewers may tune into sporting events because they think the viewing will help them feel better about themselves” (Raney 318). From a personal aspect however, if I watched a female sport enhancing the athlete in a sexual way, that would make me feel uncomfortable as a woman watching, and may also degrade my self-esteem in some way. Therefore, I feel since men are the typical demographic to watch sports, both men and women’s, women’s sports are manipulated to being sexual to gratify the male interest. This also relates to your last comment about the Go Daddy commercials. Over the past, couple years we have seen Go Daddy commercials air during the Super Bowl. It seems evident that the advertisers want to make the commercials about tech-savvy geniuses more attractive for audiences. Whether it is these commercials or women’s sports, clearly sex is one of the aspects that will sell to its popular audience, men.
Now I may sound bias as a female, and someone who does not watch sports as much, but as a female who knows many women’s sports overemphasize the sexual aspect of an athlete through such aspects like her figure in a uniform. However, after reading Lawrence Hugenberg’s and Barbara Hugenberg’s articles, “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” there seems to be hope in having more sporting events attract the female demographic. The authors note:
“As a professional sport, it rankssecond behind football (the NFL) in fan popularity—some of the largest crowds to attend sporting events in the United States attend NASCAR races on the weekend. To grow its fan base, NASCAR’s marketing plan includes appealing to fans beyond the historic fan base in the South, appealing to middle- and upper-class families (yes, families), appealing to young men and women, appealing to people of color…” (Hugenberg 655).
In other words, NASCAR hopes to attract to new generations of Americans through the values of our country. However, it was interesting to note their marketing strategies were to appeal to certain types of demographics that may not typically watch NASCAR- including women. Considering your last question, an ethical way to advertise women’s sports should be focused on the sport itself more than the sexual aspect of the athlete. Since sports were originally created for men, it has been difficult for the media to portray female athletes without having them look sexual. For myself, I would be more intrigued to watch female sports if they highlighted on the talents of these athletes as they do for male athletes, because much of their hard work is unfortunately dismissed from the media coverage.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
Raquel Doering
ReplyDeleteLauren,
I found your blog post on sexuality in women’s sports to be extremely interesting. The sports’ world tends to highlight women’s sexuality. If women are not dressed scantily or at least in cute little skirts while competing, they are highlighted in advertisements or other media forms as excessively feminine and sexy. Although this display of sexuality tends to appear mostly in women’s sports, it is not impossible to also see males displayed as sex objects. As well Such displays distract sports audiences and media consumers from the true talent of athletes and diminish the focus on the sports they play.
As you mentioned, the coverage of women’s sports in the London 2012 Olympics, including Boris Johnson’s inappropriate sexual comment of women’s beach volleyball and Hollywood Reporter’s photo gallery, which focused on women’s bodies, displayed our society’s tendency to objectify women in sports.
Furthermore, in our society, athletes are not only masters of their sports, but are also product endorsers for advertisements. According to Nielson’s “State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports,” Nielson and E-Poll Market Research have devised a system to determine the endorsement potential of athletes. This potential, which “factors in the attributes and demographic measures that align brands with endorsers” is known as the N-Score (Nielson 2). The highest N-Scores have been awarded to extremely attractive athletes, including Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2). The two women who made that list are Serena Williams and Venus Williams, which is not surprising (2). Women’s tennis is one of the more popular mainstream women’s sports and all women players wear cute outfits, which consists of tight tops and short skirts.
Raquel Doering (continued)
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the Nielson article also mentions NASCAR’s Danika Patrick (Nielson 9) and women’s tennis’ Maria Sharapova (11) who are both women athletes with relatively high N-Scores. As a result, both women have been photographed wearing close to nothing for Sports Illustrated spreads. Although these women are amazing athletes in their respective sports, society and the media have helped them to be viewed as sex symbols rather than talented athletes.
Lawrence W. Hugenberg’s and Barbara S. Hugenberg’s “If it Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom” interestingly discusses men being portrayed as sex objects. According to the article, NASCAR attempts to seek a wide female audience by using drivers as “sex-symbols” or “objects-of-desire” (Hugenberg & Hugenberg 637). For instance, one NASCAR commercial displays a group of women standing around in the pits examining the backsides of the drivers. The commercial also shows women using binoculars to watch a driver unzip his suit and bend over to pick up something (637).
Thus, while sexuality is more apparent in women’s sports, using athletes as sex symbols and objects of desire can occur in both male and female sports. While the theory behind using athletes in these manners is successful for marketing and advertising purposes, it takes away from the true athleticism and talent of the athletes and takes some focus away from the respective sports they play.
Works Cited
Hugenberg, Lawrence W. and Barbara S. Hugenberg. “If it Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom.” Journal of Popular Culture. Blackwell Publishing Limited, 2003. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.
Nielson. “State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports.” The Nielson Company. CZT/CAN Trademarks, LLC, 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading your blog about the portrayal of women in sports today, many thoughts came rushing into my head. As a competitive gymnast for over 15 years, I instantly thought of how gymnastics is often one of the sports brought into question of whether people watch it because of pure interest or is it in large part due to the skimpy leotards that fit women prance around in?
Whenever I was asked what sport I “played” throughout high school and I responded with “gymnastics” the reaction was always the same: “That’s so awesome! Can you do flips? Do you wear those leotards?” That showed me that despite the fact that the interest level in women’s, and even men’s, gymnastics seems to rapidly increase every four years during the Olympic games, gymnastics is regularly regarded as a sport in which females flip around in small uniforms. Arthur A. Raney described the relationship that many viewers share with sports, such as gymnastics, perfectly in his chapter, “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports.”
Arthur explains under the aesthetic motivation that people have to watch sports, it is the dance and rhythm that attracts some people to certain sports, stating, “viewers have consistently reported attraction to the beauty or dance of sports” (Raney 321). He continues to state that gymnastics is one of the sports that is purely evaluated on standardization, which is aesthetic criteria (Raney 321). He describes how people tend to watch gymnastics for its fluidity and stylistic approach, not necessarily for the bodies and attire of the women, but for the sports elegance and grace (Raney 321). Not that people view all female sports this way, as you have discussed the coverage of female volleyball and even tennis, but to me, this is reassurance that even though gymnastics, a sport that is frequently thought of as risky and revealing, is still well respected for its style and skill.
Another sport that is often regarded as “sexy” entertainment, is NASCAR. Do people watch the races again for pure interest in the cars, or is it because the race car drivers all seem to be good looking? Unlike the sport of gymnastics, Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara S. Hugenberg, discuss in their article, “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom” that NASCAR does use their athletes as sex symbols to appeal to a broader audience (Hugenberg 637). They state that due to the recent rise in female fans, soon female fans will likely constitute the majority of fans attending NASCAR races (Hugenberg 637). I wonder why that is. Lawrence and Barbara continue on to talk about how using creative marketing tactics, NASCAR has been successful at expanding its fan base, solely by sex, desire, and attractiveness (Hugenberg 637).
It is obvious between these two sports on how they try to reach their different audiences. Yes, I do still believe that some viewers tune in to certain sports, as we mentioned: volleyball, tennis, even NASCAR, to catch attractive athletes in action, but in agreement with Arthur A. Raney, I too believe there are many reasons why someone would watch a sport, it does not have to be purely for the sexual nature involved.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
In response to your final question, I would have to say that the way women’s sports are advertised is far from ethical, but has so far proven to be effective. During the 2012 Olympic Games, many men became bandwagon fans of beach volleyball solely for the reason of the attire the athletes wore. As you said in your blog, without sex, women would most likely not have the viewership that it has. Besides women being sexualized on screen, they are sexualized in ads where they are photo shopped to look different than they actually are. Many women athletes are bigger in size than what the “average” woman would look like. They have muscles and aren’t afraid to show them. However, there are many times when they are featured in magazines and have their muscles slimmed down to look more like a supermodel, or more like what men want to see.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I found interesting as I read the “Neilson 2011 Year in Sports” article was that out of the top ten selling national sports biographies, not a single one was about a female athlete. The only woman featured on the list was the author of some of the biographies. This statistic brought me to think about women in film, television, and the media. I can think of many sports movies that focus on male athletes, like “Remember the Titans”, “The Blind Side”, and “Miracle”. I truly could not think of a single movie that glorified a female athlete, or that made a female sports team the focus of a movie. It was not until I went on Google that I found “Stick It”, which was about a gymnastics team.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, women are still not respected in the same way that men are when it comes to sports and athleticism. I hate to say it, but our school is a perfect example of this. I have been on the sideline cheerleading team at Quinnipiac since my freshman year. After spending the past four years attending every home game for both men and women, it is truly sad to see the lack of interest in the women’s games. Nine times out of ten you couldn’t even say that a third of the arena was filled with fans, and we would always joke that most of the fans attending were the parents of the athletes, not only from Quinnipiac, but the visiting team as well.
In a quote I found in the article, “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” by Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara S. Hugenberg, it was stated, “You can see evidence of how loyal NASCAR fans are without even going to a race.” (p. 636) This struck a chord with me because there are so many people that claim to have QU pride by wearing apparel and having stickers on their cars, but nobody turns out for the actual sporting events which bring school spirit. It wasn’t until this year that the women made a name for themselves by making it to the NCAA tournament that there was a packed house for one of their games. I was so happy for them, not only for making it to the tournament, but for finally getting some recognition from their peers for all of their hard work. Hopefully this school spirit will continue next year, whether or not the team makes it to the tournament again, and begin to change the way women’s sports are viewed.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielson, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an interesting topic to discuss and also a very relevant topic. As a matter of fact, in my MSS 420 class, we were just talking about women and sports. We had discussed how most of the time the “pretty” women are the ones who receive the media coverage not necessarily the most talented. We also discussed their uniforms; we touched on the volleyball skimpy outfits, as well as the tennis stars specifically Serena William. I found it ironic that you had mentioned her in your blog.
I do agree and think the media portrays the women in sports in a more sexual tone. The types of advertising seem to focus more on looks rather than pure talent. I also feel that many liked watching the 2012 London Olympics this past summer because they wanted to see these athletes in minimal clothing or tight fitting uniforms. I found it interesting to hear that the “Hollywood Reporter” made comments on the athlete’s nails and their “sexy posteriors”. I don’t feel that type of reporting is very important. Yes, it is entertaining (to some), but it has nothing to do with their athletic talent.
I feel most people do watch women’s sports solely for their talent, but I am sure there are plenty who only watch view women athletes more as objects. Advertisers think the only way to gain more attention and fans is to "sexify" women athletes and portray them as sex symbols that also dominate at a sport. We all have seen the Go Daddy advertisements with Danica Patrick. Half the people don’t even know what kind of company Go Daddy actually is, but they are intrigued because she is a female athlete and is good looking. As Nielson pointed out in their article “State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports” Danica Patrick contributed to the increase of viewers watching the Indy 500. After she left the Indy for NASCAR the number of viewers decreased, so even though some don’t agree with that type of advertising it seems to attract viewers.
In the article “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’” they discussed how NASCAR attempts to attract female fans by their use of drivers as “sex symbols” or “objects-of-desire” (637). I found this to be a bold statement for NASCAR to make but it makes sense. Most of the time sports commercials are aimed at ordinary men who view very pretty women somehow playing football or some manly sports in skimpy clothing. The commercial will probably gain much attention from female fans. I feel women will probably be like finally an equal commercial for women has been made. I am sure there are going to be some people who disagree with NASCAR, but then they will be hypocrites, because we can all think of plenty of commercials where the women are portrayed as sex symbols in sports advertisements, so the fact that men are the sex symbols is a clever spin.
I think the advertisers should try to promote women athletes in a different light. Yes, it is clear there are attractive women in sports, there is no denying that, but we shouldn’t just be focusing on looks. There are so many talented women athletes and we need the media to start marketing with that in the back of their minds. I think males and females would be more impressed if women athletes were portrayed this way in the media. I think women athletes would be taken more seriously and be much more respected. Women in sports need to build up their foundation and start to make a name for them in the heavily dominated male industry.
Works Cited
Ginsberh, Merie. "The Superficial Person's Guide to the Olympics." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 6 Aug. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2013.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielson, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.
DJ Mahoney
ReplyDeleteLauren-
With sports, you could talk about a variety of topics but I’m glad you chose this one because of its popularity in recent years especially. As Stephanie mentioned in her blog, sex sells and I agree completely. In the field of sports, a majority of viewers are male so one way to appease the audience and have them broaden their viewership is to portray these female athletes as sex symbols.
I’m glad that you chose to talk about the Olympics because I feel that event is a time where the focus is not as honed in on the women as objects, more as equals. However, as you pointed out, this was not the case in London last summer; many viewers, including ones in position of power were commenting more on the appearance of these female athletes than on their athletic ability or the journey they took which led them to the London games. When discussing the Olympics with others, the female sports that people choose to watch the most of seem to be beach volleyball, track and field, and gymnastics; consequently, those sports all require women to wear very little clothing that is hugging on their bodies.
In the article, “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports” Arthur Raney talks about fans’ eustress motivation. Watching sporting events, especially captivating ones can cause a sense of arousal in most viewers. (Raney 317) This excitement and arousal usually comes from the commenting of the game or the closeness of the final outcome. The eustress method has been reported as being more geared towards men so this has been one way to get more men to cross over to watching female sports. Commentators have started to pin one woman against another, especially in the game of tennis, to make the match more intriguing for fans.
Going back to the topic of sex sells, when I think of areas in the media in which women are depicted as sexual beings or objects, it’s usually around fashion magazines, in music videos, and also in some films. Is the field of sports trying to play “catch up” and move up to an even playing field with the other media outlets? You mentioned in your blog post about Lindsay Vonn’s Sports Illustrated photos after winning her gold medal; I think instances like this are more focused on the brand’s marketing than the actual individual. Sports Illustrated while being known for its consistent coverage of most sports is more widely known for their annual swimsuit edition, the best-selling issue of every year. In my opinion, SI was looking to find similar revenue outcomes during a different part of the year.
In the article, “Sex Sells Sex, Not Women’s Sports” it mentions how these depictions of women are embedding in journalists and marketers’ minds because showing women as being feminine and nonthreatening has been a great sales strategy in the past. (Kane) Is the field of sports stuck in the past? Looking back at the London Olympics, the women’s soccer team won the gold medal whereas the men’s team did not qualify for the Games; however, Alex Morgan is known more for her physique rather than her athletic ability. It appears as though in such a male dominated area, women will never be seen as equals athletically or individually for their work, only shown as a prize or something to look at for the viewers.
Works Cited
Kane, Mary J. "Sex Sells Sex, Not Women's Sports Yet Sports Coverage Systematically
Focuses on the Athletic Exploits of Men and the Sexiness of
Women." Pittsburgh Post - GazetteAug 28 2011. ProQuest. Web. 7 Apr. 2013 .
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports
Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008:
313 - 29.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up some excellent points about how women are portrayed in sports coverage. With the quote that you spoke about in the first part of your post, I never really thought about women in sports in that aspect. I was focused on the fact that people were just into sports for the fun of the game. An idea that I think supports this theory, is from the article “Why we Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” by Arthur A. Raney. This article states that “For entertainment theorists, selective exposure naturally extends to include media content that not only is congruous with prevailing attitudes, but that also presumably brings pleasure to the viewer”(Raney 314). In summary, to me this quote means that people are straying away from just watching sports, to something totally different (Raney 314). When I say something totally different I’m referring to the idea that I referenced earlier in your post about women in sports. Next I want to answer some of your questions that you pose in your second paragraph. I personally don’t really follow women’s sports that much. With that being said, I think that people are still into women’s sports for the sake of actually watching the sport. As for the last question in that paragraph, I personally will watch women’s sports for the interest of the game. If I’m going to sit down and watch a sporting event, I really don’t have any other interests outside of watching the sport. This is in reference to your question about advertisers. I’m not one who really pays attention to commercials and other advertisements.
In your closing paragraph you pose some interesting questions that I want to address. To start out, I firmly believe, with the little knowledge that I have on the subject, that people are still into women’s sports for the game and not the sexuality aspect. There is a point in your last paragraph that really caught my eye. That point was about the audience that is brought in. In a way, I disagree with this point. When we look at the work “If It Ain’t Rubbin, It Ain’t Racin: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom” by Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara S. Hugenberg it states “Soon female fans will likely constitute the majority of fans attending”(637). It seems as if there is an attraction to the sport because of the content (637). Then why are females still attracted to the sport? I think that this idea goes in support of my opinion throughout the post, about how there is more of a focus on the sport and not solely because of sexuality> now as for the last question in your post, I believe that advertisers are going with what is popular. It is all about getting the viewers these days and I can see how this is a valid way to be going about it. To provide an answer to your final question, I don’t really think there is an ethical way of going about advertising. This type of advertising works, so that is what they go with. In the spirit of sports, I think they should be trying to make the sport look as glamorous as possible.
Works Cited
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
Hey Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThis topic was actually just discussed in my Sports, Media, and Society class. The media focuses on the sexuality of outfits because they firmly believe that sex sells. However, I think that it may be more than that. The majority of athletes that are focused on in the media are the athletes that tend to be more attractive than others. For example, according to Nielsen year in Sports Advertising in 2011, “Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan captured the imagination of Americans this summer with their thrilling run in the Women’s World Cup.” Abby Wombach, of the US women’s soccer team, had more goals than any other player, but Alex Morgan and Hope Solo got more advertising deals, particularly photo shoots that focused on their sexuality, not on their athletic ability.
The minute an attractive female athlete does well in her sport, Sports Illustrated, a magazine that targets a larger male audience throws her on the cover looking scantily clad. The media will put an athlete on the cover of a magazine or in an advertisement for a product if they don’t believe that the viewer will enjoy looking at them. I think that our society is so focused on looks that we cannot see past that. It goes back to the point in which only the “pretty people” are cast in roles. It is the same concept. Only the athlete that is “good looking” in the eyes of the American public, will get noticed because of the way they look, not the sport that they are a part of, or the team that they represent.
According to “If It Ain’t Rubbin, It Ain’t Racin: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom” by Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara S. Hugenberg it states “Soon female fans will likely constitute the majority of fans attending”(637). I highly disagree. I feel that though many females follow sporting events, as I am one of them, the majority of viewership falls on a male dominated audience. So males that watch events, for example the World Cup, will notice the attractiveness of an athlete and the media looks to capitalize on that.
I agree with your point that sports fan enjoy seeing their favorite athletes in the media for their talent, not for the way they look. According to Nielson’s Year in Advertising, “National TV sports generated $10.9 billion in advertising expenditure last year.” With so much money being spent on advertising for sporting events and sports related products, I think that the media tries to capture a wider audience, so they may feel that capturing the looks and sex appeal of an athlete will help them to appeal to an individual that may not know them for their athletic abilities. That in turn, could help the sport gain more fans or help to better sell a product.
Works Cited
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielson, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.
“Year in Sports Advertising: TV Ad Spend Grows to $10.9B” Nielson, 24, Jan. 2012.
I definitely agree that the Olympics tend to focus on women's physical appearence in sports. Even though the Olympics are a sporting event the number of fashion magazines and entertainment TV stations that cover the Olympics causes the focus to switch to other aspects of the games besides the participants’ actual athletic abilities. The girls’ Olympic gymnastic team was one that was exploited for their sexuality during and after the Olympics. The “Fab Five” as they are known as were featured in tons of fashion magazines for their nails, as you mentioned in your blog. E! featured the Fab Five as part of their Olympic coverage and focused mostly on their outfits and nails as well. Gabby Douglas, a part of the Fab Five, even received multiple criticisms for her hair saying that it looked “unkept” and there was even a twitter debate about her messy hair. Douglas responded to the media criticisms saying that she wished fans would focus more on her gymnastic abilities and she doesn’t care how her hair looks because that is not why she competes. This proves that the audience does tune into Olympic sports to focus on their physical appearance. According to "Why we watch & enjoy mediated sports,” more than any other reason sports media consumers tune into contests with high expectations of being entertained, experiencing entertainment or to thrill in victory. For some people entertainment comes from looking at the women’s bodies and outfits and physical appearance is even how some people chose their favorites to root for. The women’s beach volleyball team is another example of an Olympic team that was sexualized. Their uniforms were bathing suits which consequently lead to men viewers and even women viewers focusing on their bodies and turning to twitter to discuss them.
ReplyDeleteHope Solo, another Olympic medalist, chose to pose completely nude for The Body Issue, though she did so to prove the connection between her fit body and her accomplishments, according to ESPN. When ESPN asked her when she learned that she was a “sex symbol”, Solo responded by saying “My entire purpose is trying to be the best in the game, and if that exudes beauty too, that's pretty powerful.” According to State of the Media in Sports, Hope Solo is the most active soccer player with the highest percent awareness. Her message about positive body image is therefore likely to reach a lot of her fans.
Although, it is not only women sports that causes the audience to focus on sexuality. Ryan Lochte is now one of most well-known people to come out of the 2012 Olympics and even though he did win medals for his swimming abilities, most of his fans were attracted to his good looks. He has even landed his own TV show on E! called “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”, has appeared in the CW’s 90210 and is currently trying to launch a fashion line – which has nothing to do with swimming. Being good looking has helped him land these cameos on television shows and his many appearances on the red carpet.
Works Cited
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielson, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.
Ain, Morty. "The Body Issue: Hope Solo." ESPN. N.p., n.d. Web.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYou present an in-depth look at what appears to be a common phenomena in sports - the sexualization of female athletes. I do agree that the often overt sexuality attributed to female athletes is an issue that sports world has, but it is not the only issue that affects females in regards to sports. Not only are women discriminated against as athletes, but they are also discriminated against as fans. In what is still male dominated realm, sports and its media often condemn and trivialize female sports fans.
In the Hugenburgs' article "If It Ain't Rubbin', It Ain't Racin': NASCAR, American Values and Fandom" they discuss that sports marketers seek to sell popular NASCAR drivers as "'sex symbols' or 'objects of desire'" (Hugenburg, 637). The article discusses an ad in which women use binoculars in attempt to get a closer view of some NASCAR drivers unzipping their driving suit. The ad and others like it infer that women would not find anything else appealing about the sport, besides the attractiveness of the drivers. The ad is not really marketing the sport to females, but its male athletes. There are many factors of NASCAR that females could be sold on, though, other than the drivers' sex appeal. Many women enjoy the sport for the same reasons that males do, such as the the competitive aspects of the sport.
While the media typically paints sports as a field dominated by male fans, there are an increasing number of female sports viewers. In the Nielsen's "2011 Year in Sports" report it was shown 46% of female watched the Super Bowl, arguably the biggest sporting event in the United States, compared to the 54% of males. That is only an 8% difference. But while females make up a rather large percentage of sports fans, they are often belittled in the media for their participation of sports and are not viewed as being serious sports fans.
An example of this lack of respect for female sports fans can be seen with the popularity of the term, "pink hat". "Pink hat" or "pink hat fans" is said to have originated in the Boston area from the increased pink baseball hats seen at Fenway Park in Boston after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. The term reached its peak in use after the Red Sox won the World Series again in 2007. The term usually refers to females who are bandwagon fans; they often wear pink or other colored sports accessories rather than traditional team gear. In Boston they are frequently blamed to be the reason why it is difficult to acquire ticket to the big four teams and also why the prices of tickets are so high.
Delete"Pink hat" is an accepted and frequently used term in the mainstream Boston sports media. It is not uncommon to see mention of the term when reading the popular sports columns in the Boston Globe. 98.5 The Sports Hub, which is currently the Arbitron rated number one sports talk radio station in Boston, is sometimes credited for popularizing the term. Its successful "Toucher and Rich" morning show features a segment titled, "Ask a Pink Hat". In the segment clips are played from a boozy fan (99% of the time a female fan), answering what are deemed to be simple questions about the sporting event or team in which she just watched. The fan in question usually has trouble answering the questions and answer humorlessly. While the segment is suppose (and often is) a comical way to express the frustration at how fair weather fans are taking away seats from die hards at Boston sports game, the segment stereotypes females as being uninformed and only attending the games as a place to get inebriated.
This radio gag and the general use of "pink hat" unfairly signals out females. I am sure that if a male, who was as drunk as most of the girls in the segment are, would also have difficulty remembering who the Red Sox used as a closer. Also, females are not the only ones who can be bandwagon fans as well. Males can also just attend a sporting event to just hang out and consume adult beverages with friends, while paying little to no attention to the game going on. Lastly, just because a female has chosen to wear a women's sports apparel (which fit better than the traditional men apparel), should not mean that she is not a true fan. But the use of the term "pink hat" and media's repeated use of it, makes it appear these notions are not the case. It is essentially saying that females, especially those who choose to wear feminine oriented accessories to a sporting event, could not possibly actually be interested in sports, could they? The sports media must not only stop looking at females as objects of sexuality and simply as athletes, as well as start respecting females as serious fans.
Hugenburg, Lawrence & Laura Hugenburg. "If It Ain't Rubbin', It Ain't Racin': NASCAR, American Values and Fandom," Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635-57.
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielsen. 2012. 8 April 2013.
Perhaps I have a bit of a feminist bias, but most women would agree that despite many advances in Western culture in the past decades for women’s equality, there still is a ways to go. Women are paid approximately 77 cents on the dollar men make; there are sexual activeness double standards, and overall discrimination of female capability to perform a job. It is no wonder that women are treated as sexual objects in sports as well. Sports Illustrated perpetuates this objectification by using the cover photo as a sort of reward or honor for female athletes to be featured on. Your article “Sex Sells Sex: Not for Women’s Sports” was intriguing. Sex has proven time and time again as a successful sale strategy. One example you brought up was the GoDaddy commercials. Danica Patrick is sexualized and the focus becomes her beauty and sex appeal rather than her athletic skill in order to promote GoDaddy. The article “State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports” states Danica as the third most successful NASCAR athlete endorser. Serena and Venus Williams are also noted as the top two active African American athletes with endorsement potential.
ReplyDeleteAn article I found compelling on TIME magazine’s website was, “Game, Sex and Match: The Perils of Female Sports Advertising”. The author highlights the Women’s Tennis Association series of ads with the slogan “Strong is Beautiful” in which the women are, as he described, as “well-oiled” and dressed in frilly attire. He notes that many may argue that these ads show them as strong women however it ultimately is just focusing on their physical attractiveness. He supports this by saying, “…according to a number of sports-media researchers, the campaign — like so many others in female sports — undermines its players' achievements by sexualizing them, inadvertently or otherwise,” (Adams). Serena Williams, a top endorser, is one of the female athletes featured in the WTA ad campaign.
However, though women are routinely sexualized in ads, sports have also recently been using sex as a sales tactic for men as well. This has been prevalent in NASCAR ads and the increase of young female fans. The article “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom” notes that NASCAR is now seeking to use male racers as sex-symbols to draw in a female crowd. The author comments that in NASCAR ads “…viewers witness women using binoculars to catch a glimpse of a driver unzipping his driver’s suit or bending over to pick up something on the ground,” (Hugenberg, 637). This sexualizing of men has also been found to be a successful endorsing tactic. Due to such ads, NASCAR has seen an increase to 40% of the fan base being female, which is a growing number.
Perhaps we are seeing an evolvement in sex strategy ads, particularly for athlete endorsers. Though I personally do not believe sexual objectification is a moral sales tactic, in the future feminist may have to settle of at least equally sexualized endorsements from female and male athletes due to its effectiveness. Overtime, this NASCAR ads trend may spill over into other types of sports.
Works Cited
Adams, William L. "Game, Sex and Match: The Perils of Female Sports Advertising." TIME. Citi, 2 July 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielson, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThe questions you pose are interesting and they really got me to consider women’s sports and mediated sports in a way I never have before. According to Neilsen’s State of the Media: Year in Sports, “National TV sports generated $10.9 billion in advertising expenditure last year, compared to $10.3 billion one year prior” (Neilsen). While advertising saw an increase sports television viewing did as well. “There were more than 42,500 hours of live sporting events on national broadcast and cable TV in 2011, a five percent increase over 2010” (Neilsen). These increases show that audiences are still viewing sporting events on television and advertising companies are creating more ads than ever before. Why is this? Because of many motivating factors to watch sporting events.
Each individual has their own interests and beliefs and it is these individualized niche interests that dictates which men and women will watch which type of sporting event. Why We Watch & Enjoy Mediated Sports discusses the psychological explanations behind mediated sports viewing and specifically highlights selective exposure. “In other words individuals tend to intentionally choose media content that is presumed to be, by and large, consistent with their existing attitudes, beliefs and thoughts” (Raney). I believe selective exposure truly determines what we watch on television and specifically why we choose to watch women’s sports or opt out.
I think we watch sports mainly when they are hyped up. As you mentioned, the Olympics were widely watched and particularly some of the women’s sports. The Olympics is a popular set of games and events, which are widely known around the world. Personally, I do not think I would watch any other women’s sporting event on television if it weren’t the Olympics or hyped to the same caliber as the Olympic games. I believe that the caliber of marketing and promotions of a women’s sporting event will dictate how many people will tune in to watch the event live on television. If the game or match is between rival teams or schools that is one instance where the event will draw in more viewers than usual.
I do not think it is completely ethical to advertise women’s sports using their sexuality but I think it is necessary to draw in the male audience the brands and athletic sporting events would like to target. Males of almost all ages who watch sporting events have been brought up to view women in a particular way in the media. Women have always been portrayed, or so it seems, as a sexual object and the center of attention wearing hardly any clothing. By taking away these ‘sexual objects’ the attention of these males must be 100% on the sport, which they are not used to. Since we know that selective exposure plays a large role in determining who will tune into particular sports it is important that we understand it. According to Arthur Raney in Why We Watch & Enjoy Mediated Sports, “selective exposure naturally extends to include media content that not only is congruous with prevailing attitudes, but that also presumably brings pleasure to the viewer” (Raney). Men get some sort of ‘pleasure’ or ‘fulfillment’ from not only watching the women’s game but watching the women and taking in their beauty. It is a little degrading but this is the point that our society has come to. The combination of sex and athleticism in women’s sports has brought men’s interest level up to where it is. If women would like to be taken more seriously in their sports they should reevaluate their ensemble and uniforms to divert the attention off their bodies and onto the actual game.
Works Cited
"State of the Media: 2011 Year in Sports." Nielsen, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
Dear Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great topic, its an interesting subject that I see as unique to female athletics. Of course the media is all about using sex appeal to sell products or gain viewers. After reading your post I feel as though I disagree with you. I personally haven’t seen anything sexual or provocative coming from woman’s sports aired on TV. I can only think of three woman sports where sex appeal could come into play and they are golf tennis and volleyball. “Many report viewing sporting events because the events provide an opportunity for the viewers to increase their self esteem. In other words, viewers may tune into sporting events because they think the viewing will help them feel better about themselves” (Raney 318). This quote really spoke to me. I used it because I disagree with the point he is trying to make. I watch sports all the time and its never to increase my self esteem. As an avid sports watcher I would ask the question of where the sexual content is when watching the girls NCAA basketball tournament. I feel as though the subject of women and sexuality in sports is a narrow subject. Most female’s sports don’t leave room for sexuality, even if you tried. When talking about the Go Daddy commercials as you had mentioned in your post, I don’t get them. I think it was a very bad career choice that lowered her respect level in the racing community. These commercials are a prime example of using sex to sell a product. Go Daddy is a domain website, yet the commercials say nothing about that, they only have two hot naked women walking around and people starring at them.
The world of sports is one for men and women, whether it’s playing them or watching them on TV. Men are not objectified or dressed in a sexual manner when it comes to sports and neither are women. To say that a female sport is doing well because they use sex appeal is almost embarrassing to the world of sports. Men and women dress differently, so the uniforms will reflect that. However, that is not to say that females wear belly shirts and short skirts when playing hockey or basketball.
In a great article by Lawrence and Barbara Hugenberg they speak on the fan support and direction of NASCAR in the future. One excerpt I liked was, “You can see evidence of how loyal NASCAR fans are without even going to a race.” (Hugenburg p. 636). I believe this to be extremely true. Although I don’t watch NASCAR myself I have always known that they were right on the heels of the NFL and at some times have surpassed them as far as fan support and viewership. The article also touches on how NASCAR is looking to broaden its fans. I think that the addition of Danica Patrick is exactly what they needed to get this kick started. Having a dominant driver be female is a great way to expand your viewership. It’s a women excelling in a male dominated world. Theres no better “story” in the world of sports.
Sexuality in sports is a biased view of the sport I believe. When I watch tennis I may find the female player to be attractive, but that’s not why I watch. The same can be said for a girl watching golf. She isn’t watching Tiger woods cause she thinks he’s hot, but because she loves the game of golf.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI thought this topic was very interesting and you brought up some great points supporting this topic. This seems to be a controversial trend within sports that has been going on for years. It’s sad to say and agreeing with everyone else but sex does sells and I believe it has significantly helped the success of sports. Personally I do not watch sports on a regular basis but I do tune in to certain events and I have noticed how sexualize some athletes have become. I feel like this is all a marketing and advertisement strategy. Who wouldn’t want to see hot bodies glistening from sweat? I say if you have the body, flaunt it, who cares? This topic also goes the same for men. I feel it’s about equal exposure for men and women. It’s just that in today’s society its acceptable for a man to have his shirt off and a woman to not but in all reality both genders are overtly exposed through sports from TV commercials to magazine ads.
In the article, “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports” by Arthur A. Raney discusses the reasons why people watch sports and how it affects them in their everyday lives. This article was very interesting to me because I didn’t realize how influential sports can be on a person. It can either give them self esteem or even change their mood. I found that rather odd maybe because I am not a big sports lover but I didn’t realize how intense people can get over watching sports. Throughout the article he states “studies consistently demonstrate that media content can alter or enhance a viewers mood”. I agree with this statement because whether or not people know what’s going on they can get so caught up in the action of the sport they can display those emotions through rage, happiness or excitement. Which brings me back to our overtly exposed athlete, this concept can go for viewers just watching the body moment of the athletes and not even paying attention to the game. These viewers can still receive the same experience of happiness, excitement or even rage by just watching.
As a woman, I personally don’t think this is a big issue for me. I actually like to see how great women and men look in their uniforms or bodies. I take it as a positive and motivation for others to want to look like that. People don’t realize how difficult and hard it is to receive a sculpted, chisel body like that. I believe it’s a type of art and if the athletes themselves are okay with it then why not. It’s always great to see fit people on magazines and commercial ads. In my opinion, I haven’t really seen a negative aspect on this issue. For the most part it’s their uniform or they are posing in a bathing suit. I think it is just the right amount of exposure because it’s not like they are in the nude exposing everything that god gave them.
DeleteAlso in response to your last question, “is this an ethical way to advertise women’s sports, or should they be more focused on the sport itself? Like I said earlier and those above me, sex sells. Advertising these women in certain outfits is a great way to lure in viewers and really keep the sport alive. Depending on the sport itself I believe no one focuses on the game anymore just specific athletes, regarding to how they look or play. Looks definitely play a huge role in this but I think it’s all about the athlete themselves.
Another article that I thought was interesting to read about was “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” by Lawrence W. Hugenberg and Barbara S. Hugenberg that really brought up some intriguing ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of. I guess I can’t really relate to these things because I am not a die-hard fan for sports but it was interesting to see how the value of sports can be so precious to someone. The article focused on how loyal fans can be, to women taking over in sports. It was a great article that supported sport lovers and it was just astonishing to see how far people really go in sports.
Hugenberg, Lawrence & Barbara Hugenberg. “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom,” Journal of Popular Culture 41.4: 2008: 635 - 57.
Raney, Arthur A. “Why We Watch and Enjoy Mediated Sports,” Handbook of Sports Studies, Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008: 313 - 29.
For many female athletes, more attention has been given to their looks than their talent and accomplishments. Working at the US Open every year since 2003, I have witnessed this firsthand. This practice is all too common. Commentators acknowledge the players' appearance before anything else. The speak about everything from earrings to eyebrows before things that are actually of importance.
ReplyDeleteIn the 2011 Women's Tennis Association's new Strong Is Beautiful advertising campaign, amazing tennis stars such as Caroline Wozniaki can be seen serving balls into a wind machine. It also features champion Kim Clijsters doing a split in a short frilly skirt. In the article "Women, Sex and Sports in Ad Campaigns: Gender Divide," William Lee Adams states "the campaign — like so many others in female sports — undermines its players' achievements by sexualizing them, inadvertently or otherwise." I truly agree. I believe that ads like this are insulting. The network is using sexualized mannerisms as a promotion technique instead of actually showing their skills. "When female athletes are featured in ads, it tends to be in ways that hyperfeminize them rather than highlight their athletic competence" (Adams). I do not believe that this is an ethical way to promote sports. I feel that individuals tune in for the exciting action and this is what the ads should be centered around.
This practice is not solely seen in tennis. In the 2011 London Olympics beach volleyball outfits were a frequent topic of conversation. On social media I noticed that all of the men were watching this to stare at the bodies of the Brazillian team. Therefore I do believe that it is safe to say that some do turn in for superficial reasons such as that."Media coverage of the event became nearly all about the bikinis instead of the women who play it. For example, NBC's New York affiliate ran the headline "Olympic Beach Volleyball: Great Bodies, Bikinis and More). This headline suggests that their bodies and bikinis are of more importance than the actual game. Was the more referencing the actual sports action?
Adams, William Lee. "Women, Sex and Sports in Ad Campaigns: Gender Divide - TIME." TIME.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
"Sarah J. Jackson: What's Wrong with Media Coverage of Women Olympians?" The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.