By

John Vincent, Ph.D - Assistant Professor - Sport Management
The University of Alabama - College of Education - Department of Kinesiology

Contents:

The purpose of this article is promote discussion about print media coverage of elite female and male athletes.

It is generally accepted that the mass media have become some of the most powerful institutional forces in society. Although we all use the media in different ways, the media are responsible for directing attention and shaping cultural attitudes and values (Harris & Clayton, 2002; Sage 1998). Most aspects of life in contemporary societies have an impact on the media and, reciprocally, are influenced by the media. How the media represent a social group gives important clues to understanding their social status, social values, norms, and attitudes toward that group. Thus, the dominant electronic and print media narratives about elite female and male athletes helps to define, normalize, influence, and reflect mainstream societal beliefs about them.

A number of theoretical perspectives can be used to explain the reasons why media choose to present sport and elite female and male athletes in specific ways. Theoretical insight can be drawn from feminist, cultural studies, and political economy perspectives.

Feminist sport scholars claim that female athletes are marginalized and exploited.They seek to change sport to counter oppression based on not just gender, but also race, class, and ethnicity (Hall, 2002). Feminists view sport and the media as symbiotic institutions that frame sports coverage within a gender hierarchy where male athletes are portrayed as naturally superior to female athletes. The media perpetuate and naturalize this hierarchy by rewarding female athletes whose physical appearance conforms to a Euro-centric heterosexual femininity with more coverage and, thus, more exposure for commercial endorsements than female athletes who have an androgynous physical appearance (Creedon, 1994). The underlying hegemonic message is that athleticism and femininity are contradictory and that female athletes must balance their athletic prowess with femininity to be socially accepted (Krane, 2001).

Cultural studies scholars view the media as playing an important role in the construction and reconstruction of hegemonic ideologies such as capitalism, patriarchy, and heterosexuality, by creating and naturalizing social reality (Sage, 1998). Hargreaves (1982, p. 127) asserted that through the use of verbal and visual imagery, “the media re-dramatize and re-present what are already potent dramatic spectacles within a framework of interpretation, which facilitates the passing of ideologically coded messages, that is, preferred ways of seeing sport and society.” It is claimed that when women enter the masculine world of sport, institutional, cultural, social, and economic powers are used to reinforce gender differences and patriarchal ideology through the subordination and oppression of female athletes (Burton Nelson, 1994; Coakley, 2003).

Political economy scholars claim newspapers are driven by the financial considerations of circulation and advertising revenue. To meet their financial objectives, newspapers generally try to attract the largest and most affluent readership possible. This frequently translates into newspapers reinforcing traditional cultural mainstream values rather than act as engines of social change (Cohen, 1993).

During the last 2 decades, numerous empirical studies investigating the interaction of gender, sport, and the media have consistently found that media coverage of female athletes have failed to mirror their athletic achievements. Studies of media coverage of female athletes show that they are generally under-represented compared to their male counterparts (Duncan & Messner, 1998; Eastman & Billings, 2000; Harris & Clayton, 2002; Pederson, 2002). Despite the exponential growth in women's sport in the last three decades, elite female athletes typically receive only about 10 percent of print media coverage (Bernstein, 2002).

When female athletes receive coverage it is frequently imbued with socially constructed sex role stereotypes and replete with references to their heterosexual familial roles as wives, mothers, girlfriends, and daughters (Christopherson, Janning & McConnell, 2002). The mediated discourse of the heterosexual familial roles of female athletes serves to reproduce the pattern of male dominance in heterosexual relationships (Hargreaves, 1986). The male dominated sport media subordinate female athletic events as the “other” event through a myriad of journalistic and production techniques. Reports of female athletic prowess and achievement are combined with trivialization and are frequently framed with culturally stereotyped commentary about their physical appearance and feminine heterosexual attractiveness rather than their athletic prowess and skill (Bernstein, 2002; Christopherson et al., 2002; Eastman & Billings, 2000; Kane & Lenskyi, 1998; Kinkema & Harris, 1998; Messner, 2002).

Research has indicated that female athletes competing in the traditionally “gender-appropriate” individual sports such as swimming, diving, gymnastics, and tennis, which represent a narrow, culturally stereotyped view of female athleticism, receive more electronic and print media coverage than female athletes competing in the traditionally “gender-inappropriate” team sports such as field hockey, softball, and rugby (Pirinen, 1997; Tuggle & Owen, 1999; Vincent, Imwold, Johnson, & Massey, 2003).

Historically, African American female athletes have been associated with the so-called “race-appropriate” school-sponsored sports of track and basketball rather than socially elitist sports that require country club membership and private lessons. Generally, female African American athletes have received less media coverage than their Caucasian peers even when they have been successful (Williams, 1994). When African American athletes have received mediated coverage it has frequently been imbued with the racial stereotype of their being “natural” athletes, who rely on their athleticism rather than intelligence, work ethic, and tactical awareness (Cole & Andrews, 1996; Sabo & Jansen, 1994).

The media devote the majority of their coverage to male athletes and generally valorize and revere them for their athletic prowess and judge sporting events by masculine standards. Summarizing a series of studies conducted for the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, Duncan and Messner (1998) reported that verbal descriptors were used to frame male athletes as strong, active, powerful, and in control. Male athletes were described in terms of their strengths and successes and liberal use was made of power descriptors and martial metaphors.

Sports journalism remains a male-dominated profession. Sport journalists operate in a culture where the mainstream paradigm suggests that sport, masculinity, and corporate culture co-exist in a symbiotic relationship (Coakley, 2003). Implicit in this finding is that this may account for the limited and stereotypical coverage of female athletes. It has been suggested that as the glass ceiling in journalism cracks then the amount and type of coverage given to female athletes may improve (Theberge & Cronk, 1986).

Several recent studies have indicated that female athletes are receiving a more balanced and equitable amount of media coverage particularly in major international sporting events (Tuggle & Owen, 1999;Vincent, 2002). This suggests that some media organizations in western countries have become sensitive to this issue. However, although there are now more images of powerful, strong, independent elite female athletes, paradoxically, the media have actively promoted and marketed female athletes who have a heterosexually feminine appearance, such as Anna Kournikova. A recent study comparing British newspaper coverage of female and male tennis players competing in the Wimbledon Championships found a relatively equitable amount of coverage female and male tennis players. However, the infotainment nature of the coverage appeared to be marketed and constructed to appeal to a predominately male readership. Anna Kournikova, the nexus of sexuality, commercialism, and athleticism, received more newspaper coverage than any other female or male tennis player. However, the newspaper coverage of Kournikova was replete with sexual inneudo, infantilization, and salacious incursions into her private life (Vincent, 2004). In her article entitled, “Is it time for a victory lap,” Bernstein (2002) argued persuasively that the recent trend to provide elite female athletes with more coverage is undermined if the narratives are replete with gender stereotypes, trivialization, and sexual innuendo.

What then can be done to provide elite female athletes with a more equitable, balanced coverage? Below are some suggestions for equitable print media coverage of elite female and male athletes (Vincent, 2000).

The following quantitative and qualitative aspects should be considered in the print media coverage and portrayal of female and male athletes. These guidelines are suggested to assist sports editors and journalists in providing equitable coverage devoid of outdated, stereotypical and sexist portrayal of female athletes:

1). Quantity of Coverage.

An effort should be made to give equitable coverage of female and male athletes in terms of:

2). Quality of Coverage.

Attention should be given to the position in the newspaper of articles and photographs of female and male athletes.

Position in the Newspaper

3). Position of the Page.

An effort should be made to give equitable coverage to female and male athletes in the following page positions:

4). Content and Quality of the Photograph.

An effort should be made to give equitable coverage to female and male athletes in respect of the following:

Portrayal of Female Athletes.

5). A balanced coverage in terms of the number, size, prominence, and vertical location of female athletes competing in the so-called “female-inappropriate” sports with the female athletes competing in the so-called “female-appropriate” sports should be provided.

6). Avoid threading reports about female athletes into or appending onto reports about male athletes.

7). Avoid trivialized and sexist portrayal of female athletes.

8). Elite female athletes should be defined through their athletic rather than gender role.

In the new millennium electronic media outlets including television and the internet largely satisfy cravings for immediate information. Generally newspapers circulations are in decline and their readership demographics are graying. However, although the impact of newspapers is complex and some readers who view the images through a critical lens may resist the dominant patriarchal ideology, it seems likely that media coverage of elite female and male athletes helps define, normalize, and influence the mainstream beliefs parents have about sport. This is significant because research indicates that parents are one of the most influential socializing forces in children's lives.

Given that parental support is an important element in determining young girls' involvement in sports and a healthy lifestyle, it is important that parents perceive that their daughters' athleticism will be valued. This is particularly salient in a sedentary, “fast food” culture that is gripped by an epidemic of obese children and where young girls are inundated with unrealistic, idealized, and sexualized images of the female body, which can result in body image problems. In this context, it is important that young school girls are able to identify with sporting role models who are determined, powerful, independent, and strong female athletes who are valued by society without having to deal with a host of socially constructed stereotypes, based on rigidly defined gender roles. Examining the way journalists frame the coverage of elite female and male athletes, especially the language and rhetoric they employ is important because it is a reflection on how women are valued in society.

Bernstein, A. (2002). Is it time for a victory lap?: Changes in the media coverage of women in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport , 37 (3-4), 415-428.

Burton Nelson, M. (1994). The stronger women get, the more men love football: Sexism and the American culture of sports . New York: Harcourt Brace.

Christopherson, N., Janning, M., & McConnell, E. D. (2002). Two kicks forward, one kick back: A content analysis of media discourses on the 1999 Women's World Cup Soccer Championship. Sociology of Sport Journal , 19, 170-188.

Coakley, J. (2003). Sport in society: Issues and controversies (8 th ed.). St Louis: McGraw-Hill.

Cohen, G. (1993). Media portrayal of the female athlete. In G. Cohen (Ed.), Women in sport: Issues and controversies (pp. 171-184). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cole, C. L., & Andrews, D. L. (1996). “Look-It's NBA showtime!” Visions of race in the popular imaginary. Cultural Studies , 1, 141-181.

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Duncan, M. C., & Messner, M. A. (1998). The media image of sport and gender. In L.A. Wenner (Ed.), MediaSport , (pp. 170-185). London: Routledge.

Eastman, S.T., & Billings, A.C. (2000). Sportscasting and sports reporting: The power of gender bias. Journal of Sport and Social Issues , 24 (2), 192-214.

Hall, M. A. (2002). The discourse of gender and sport: From femininity to feminism. In Sheila Scraton & Anne Flintoff (Eds.), Gender and sport: A reader (pp. 6-17). London: Routledge.

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Hargreaves, J. (1986). Sport, power and culture. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Harris, J., & Clayton, B. (2002). Femininity, masculinity, physicality and the English tabloid press. International Review for the Sociology of Sport , 37 (3-4), 397-413.

Kane, M. J., & Lenskyi, H. J. (1998). Media treatment of female athletes: Issues of gender and sexualities. In L. A. Wenner (Ed.), MediaSport , (pp. 186-201). New York: Routledge.

Kinkema, K. M., & Harris, J. C. (1998). MediaSport studies: Key research and emerging issues. In L. A. Wenner (Ed.), MediaSport , (pp. 27-54). New York: Routledge.

Krane, V. (2001). We can be athletic and feminine, but do we want to? Challenging hegemonic femininity in women's sport. Quest , 53 (1) 115-131.

Messner, M. A. (2002). Taking the field: Women, men and sports . Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Pederson, M. P. (2002). Examining equity in newspaper photographs: A content analysis of the print media coverage of interscholastic athletics. International Review for the Sociology of Sport , 37 (3-4), 303-318.

Pirinen, R. M. (1997). The construction of women's positions in sport: A textual analysis of articles on female athletes in Finnish women's magazines. Sociology of Sport Journal , 14 , 290-301.

Sabo, D., & Jansen, S.C. (1994). Seen but not heard: Black men in sports media: In M. A. Messner & D.F. Sabo (Eds.), Sex, violence & power in sports: Rethinking masculinity (pp.150-160). Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press.

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Tuggle, C. A., & Owen, A. (1999). A descriptive analysis of NBC's coverage of the Centennial Olympics: The “Games of the Women”?. Journal of Sport and Social Issues , 23 (2), 171-182.

Vincent, J. (2000). Cross national comparisons of print media coverage of female/male athletes in the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta 1996. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

Vincent, J. (2004). Game, sex, and match: The construction of gender in British newspaper coverage of the 2000 Wimbledon Championships. Sociology of Sport Journal , 21(4), 435-456.

Vincent, J., Imwold, C., Johnson, J, T., & Massey, C. D. (2003). Newspaper coverage of female athletes competing in selected sports in the Centennial Olympic games. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 12 (1), 1-21.

Williams, L. D. (1994). Sportswomen in black and white: Sports history from an Afro-American perspective. In P.J. Creedon (Ed.), Women, media and sport , (pp. 45-66). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

1). Why do you think that elite female athletes receive less coverage than their male counterparts, even in major international sporting events such as the Olympic Games?

2). What could be done to provide female athletes with a more equitable amount and balanced coverage?

3). If sports journalism attracted more female journalists would that facilitate a more equitable and balanced coverage?

4). Do some people view the media's dominant narratives through a critical counter hegemonic lens?

5). Is the media's fixation with White, hyper-feminine female athletes such as Anna Kournikova a positive or negative development for professional women's sport?

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