A new perspective on women in sports

To be completely honest before taking this class, i was completely oblivious to how women in sports were treated. I knew they were some differences between how men's sports and women's sports were viewed, but i had no idea, how big of difference there was. Of course i would see female athletes in magazines, commercials, and ads,but i didn't think much of how they were photographed or how their stances were very sexual.

However after taking this class, I gained a new perspective, which showed me how we have made these female athletes sexual object, and judge them on their looks rather than their accomplishments. Unlike the males who get judged on how good they are in their sports. With this new insight i can see how all the ads have portrayed women in a demeaning manner, by having these women pose in bikinis and in sexual poses, while their male counterparts are photographed as sometimes god like. Having two younger sisters, I would hate them to think that the only way for them to be a great athlete is for them to wear next to nothing, because it's based on their looks, not their talent.

I think that the Internet can be a productive vehicle to stop this idea that women's sport is based on how they look, by informing not only the women population but especially the male populations of how the women are viewed, and the negative effects it has on the future women in sports. The great thing about the Internet is that anyone can make ads that exhibit women as a force to be reckon with, rather than eye candy.

-Chris Chau Kin. 338I T/TH 2-3:15