Sporting competitions and events have always been doted on by the general public throughout history. Distinguished male athletes are idolized and shown on public media regularly. In the past, sports were mainly acknowledged as activities only men were supposed to undertake. However during the last century, sports have become recognized as activities that both genders can execute well. Even though this is a great step towards the equality of genders in the area of sports, there is still much yet to be accomplished internationally, especially on the portrayal of women athletes by media. Boys are often encouraged to become athletes, or to become like their sporty idols, yet girls are discouraged when they express their interest in becoming like successful female athletes. Why is this so? In general, the most recognized sport players around the globe are men, such as Stephen Curry, or Lionel Messi, which media focuses on a lot. What the media does not provide as much attention to and do not urge the population to become like, are women athletes. Gender inequality in sports has been in part contributed by the media as well as evident in media bias. The history of sports and the restrictions on women …show more content…
In the example of NBA and the WNBA receiving unequal screentime gives evidence for this statement. Women are neglected, or shown less care in the media, and more often than not, male athletes are idolized by children as well as adults because of their frequent appearance on media, such as social media, magazines, or television. This should also be available and open for women sports players. Only in rare cases are women paid the same amount of attention to, such as tennis player Sharapova, and that is only because of her model-like looks! The immense extent of gender bias in sport should be diminished as soon as possible, and this will be a big step in levelling out gender equality in