Sexualization Of Women In Sports

It’s pretty clear that in today’s society males are the dominate figure in sports. They receive a tremendous more amount of media attention than female athletes. Young boys grow up watching television bombarded with heroic images of male athletes. They have something to look up to, while young girls don’t receive the same images. Therefore, athletes love to be interactive with fans through social media but is social media always portraying them in the ways they want to be?

Since the early 20th century, the feminist movement has made enormous strides to improve the status of female athletes. Prior to the movement’s achievements, female athletes had to play in much poorer facilities, under different rules, and with stricter dress codes than

In other words, are the reviling pictures that are posted of athletes helping them promote their respected sport? Or even the company they are posing for? Even when female athletes attempt to withdraw from the media’s sexualization, they experience criticism from their viewers and even peers, further establishing the importance of sex appeal in women’s sports. In 1997 the Harvard Law Review found that female athletes in the United States have historically faced resistance, even outright hostility, for not confining themselves to feminine activities. (Ryan, Megan) Since they further diminish their femininity by refusing to participate in sexualized portrayals, these female athletes encounter much criticism from society, especially male viewers, for being stubborn and aggressive. On top of this backlash, female athletes who do not feel the need for or oppose sexualization face disapproval from fellow athletes. People and critiques argue that female athletes should just lighten up and seize the opportunity to glorify their bodies while raising awareness for women’s sports, as having such opportunities should be a source of pride rather than shame. As female athletes who oppose sexualization are confronted with criticism from society and their peers, they lose support, money, and camaraderie, seemingly leaving them no choice but to comply with the media’s actions. Because sex appeal holds such a substantial influence in today’s society, female athletes who challenge the media’s sexualization does grant female athletes more publicity, by concentrating on sex appeal instead of athleticism and skill, the media fail to adequately reflect the athletes’ accomplishments. Studies have found that although the media may be trying to emphasize the athletes’ heterosexuality and femininity along with their athleticism, they only further distance the image of women athletes from athletic competence. Athletes who volunteer for sexualized