In this months edition of ESPN Magazine titled "The Body Issue" it features Serena Williams, one of the best black, female tennis players in the world posing nude on the cover. At first glance and our discussion of how females are protrayed versus how men are betrayed this really seemed a prime example. The magazine does not put her on the cover as a tennis player or an athlete but a very provacative image of a nude female. If you compare this to when a male athlete is on the cover, they are usually playing thier sport and highlighting that. I understand the want to feminize female athletes but I do not believe that posing nude makes people think of the athletic ability first but of the female body.
But then I realized that not only was Williams nude but every other athlete in the magazine was as well in that they are trying to compete with Sport Illustrated. I found it very controversal and did not really understand why they could not just highlight these athletes abilities with clothes on versus having to be nude, either male or female.
This also made me think of the reading from last week about "fat phobia" and that Serena Williams is not necessarily considered a "small" girl, but very powerful, tall and weighing in around 170pounds. This allows girls to see that you do not have to be the tiny petite girl but you can be muscular, athletic and femimine all at once.
Kylie Starr
Kin 388I
Section 3023
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After reading the previous post I researched the article and thought that ESPN did a great job in depicting these athletes in such a strong manner. At first glance I was ready to bash in and attack ESPN for placing Serena on the cover of the magazine all the while stripping her of her athletic talent. Yet after seeing that ESPN did 6 different covers including both men and women, depicting both sexes as powerful. On top of the pictures both on the covers and within the magazine the captions along side the photos did a great job in describing all the positive aspects these athletes posses.
There were two captions that caught my eye which regarded the athlete as the opposite sex. One was comparing a male sumo wrestler to a ballerina while the other was comparing a female table tennis player who hits the ball "like a guy". I was a bit bothered that for a female to hit hard, she must be compared to a male because God forbid a woman is stronger than a man!
I appreciate how all of these athletes are photographed, and love the fact that the women who are built more muscular and "masculine" are embraced and applauded for their strength and skill. Which women were not praised for in previous readings in regards to the Tuskegee Flash and Pedestriennes.
-Talisa Bosse
KIN 388I
Section 3018/3023
A couple days ago E60, a sport documentary on espn covering recent sport issues, disected this controversial article. This has never been done by both top male and female athletes before. Agreeing with Talisa, I thought espn did a great job in showing both men and female as powerful and dedicated athletes. These athletes spend an enormous amount of dedication, hard work and time into training and diet so there body can be that way. Obviously the athletes are proud and comfortable with their image.
In edition ESPN the magazine did a great job of describing the positives of every individual athlete and not just males like media in the past. The female athletes feature were not portrayed with masculine skills or gender labels, but instead their athletic achievements that have got them to where they are now.
This is one of very few articles where female athletes are praised about their physical strength and defining muscles. I am glad to see ESPN take this approach as women sport coverage is really rare. It is a good thing to see sports media finally moving away from the approach of Victorian beliefs.
Daniel Frazer
Kin 338I
Tth 9:30
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