Modern day sport for women has become an opportunity to generate income and publicity through the use of over-sexualised athletes on advertisements. The main questions regarding this issue are why athletes agree to do so and how it affects them and others that view these advertisements. The undermined publicity and funding for women, as opposed to men in elite sport, creates a larger desire for women to generate income by other means. As well as this, the hurtful stereotypes that are assigned to women who do not participate in ‘feminine ' activities add to this ambition. The media further increases this over-sexualised view by the points of focus during the recording of sport and gender marking. These advertisements also set unrealistic standards …show more content…
The effect on those who view these advertisements is another important factor in the over-sexualised portrayal of women athletes in the media. The difference in commentary and presentation has a large impact on the way these viewings are perceived. Research was conducted regarding the commentary of different genders competing in recorded basketball and tennis. Micheal Messner and his team found that displaying pink means it iss women 's sport that is being watched and commentators ‘gender mark ' competitions in order to maintain a ‘necessary sense of clarity for the viewers. ' This means that when televised sport is viewed it is supposedly varied by the gender of the competitors involved. This is another demonstration of the difference of men’s and women’s sport. However, in this case, it is the media who portrays this view. Therefore, the sexualised portrayal of women is due to the way they are perceived when we view them on TV. The FIVB regulation volleyball uniforms which previously had regulations to wear bikinis were not respectable to cultural beliefs of both those competing and also the viewers of this sport. Due to the exposure of women it creates unachievable standards for all female viewers. This has the potential to have a negative effect of girls and women who view these advertisements. These unreachable ‘looks ' standards create the possibility for viewers to develop health issues such as anorexia. This type of over-sexualised objectification in the media can also diminish achievements of these athletes shown and alienate viewers that this is the norm. This may cause those looking to participate in the sport being discourages to do so as they may think that they do not fit the requirements as they do not have a toned, tanned ‘beach body. ' This means the media’s portrayal of women athletes does not necessarily increase encouragement to view and participate but certainly exploits women for