Representation Of Women In Sports Analysis

Although men and women are equal to each other under the law, they are certainly not viewed equally in the world of sports. The media can shape the publics perception of women in sports whether that means they are talented, skilled, athletic women, or women who are only playing sports to appeal to an audience. Whether reporters are asking Eugenie Bouchard to ‘twirl’ to show off her outfit or calling women ‘girls’, the media is minimizing women’s talent in the sport industry.

The sex appeal of women is more prevalent in the sports industry rather than the skills and talent that a female athlete attributes. Stereotypically in sports, women are referred to as traditionally feminine, soft, gentle and kind; where as men are referred to as tough,

In 2009, the International Olympic Committee had agreed to include women’s boxing into the Olympic games. However, rather than embracing the new athletes, the Association Intarnationale de Boxe Amateur had established a regulation that required all female boxers to wear skirts around the ring to help viewers differentiate what athletes were male and which were female (‘Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee’—But Only if You Dress Like a Girl An Analysis of the Feminization of Female Olympic Athletes through Athletic Attire Amanda N. Schweinbenz Laurentian University, Canada). There were mixed reactions through athletes and coaches, some who said that they thought they are ‘cute’, while others said that this idea was overtly feminizing the sport. Patricia Manual, former US national champion stated ‘This is absurd...to put fighters in skirts to label them as women is incredibly outdated. It seems to me sexist’ (‘Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee’—But Only if You Dress Like a Girl An Analysis of the Feminization of Female Olympic Athletes through Athletic Attire Amanda N. Schweinbenz Laurentian University, Canada). By having a regulation that forces women to maintain their feminine appearance and essentially ‘prove’ that the women competing are in fact actually women is