Media sexaulization of female athletes:
Female athletes do not have the luxury of being primarily portrayed as performance athletes, as coverage of their beauty and sex appeal usually over-shadow highlights of their on-field accomplishments. "Women first, athlete 2nd" is the generally view on female athletes by their clothes and poses in magazines and commercials. While sexualizing female athletes and encouraging them to prioritize sex appeal over strength. Changes the athletes achievements and self-esteem. The American public has not deemed women's sports on par with men's sports, female athletes have had to embrace the media's sexualization to emphasize their femininity and gain publicity and money.
http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2014/09/time-to-bench-discrimination/
Time to bench discrimination:
No matter how talented an athlete they are, they will be met with sexist and racist sports coverage. These athletes deserve the same attention and dignity given to white male athletes, and it seems that this will only happen once sports networks and newspapers begin to hire more people of color and women as commentators, anchors, and journalists. As it currently stands, white men make up a large portion of the mainstream media, and so the coverage is tailored to what they deem to be ‘legitimate’ sports. Unfortunately, female athletes are seen as less legitimate.
http://www.feminist.org/research/sports/sports5a.html
Women Athletes in the Media:
Both female athletes and reporters have yet to achieve parity with men in the media. In terms of coverage, women athletes are almost invisible. In 1993, only 5% of televised sports news covered women's sports - virtually the same percentage as in 1989.30 In print media, a study of four major newspapers found that fewer than 5% of all sports stories were devoted to women only.
Media coverage of women's sports is important:
The media shapes the public's perceptions of the accomplishments of women playing sports and whether women in general can be strong, confident and highly skilled. The media also shapes the dreams and aspirations of girls. Boys grow up watching television, bombarded by heroic and confident images of themselves playing sports and being revered for their accomplishments. They know they are expected to play sports and are encouraged to do so by everyone around them. Girls do not receive these messages.
Television carriage is also a critical ingredient for the success of professional women's sports and competitive professional sport salaries and purses. If women's pro sports cannot tap into big advertising dollars, athlete salaries and purses will continue to be depressed and the financial success of women's pro leagues and tours will be more difficult to achieve.
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