The Internet and Future of Women in Sports

The internet has allowed us to communicate with people we know and extend our reaches to other people in other countries and cultures. We are now able to get a better understanding of the world we live in. The internet can help women in sport be viewed as athletes.

On the internet, people choose what they see and read. They are not subjected to the same pressures of traditional media. In traditional media, people are trying to sell sex because it’s easily marketable. They are more likely to watch female sports because of this. Unfortunately, the message of female athletes gets changed and broken down into sex gods. With little opposition, we buy into the stereotypes without objection. With the internet, the approach is different it’s more independent and interpersonal. People watch female sports to see human beings like themselves. Hence, as long as women are shown as athletes people will see them as athletes.

Romaina M. Kin 338i Tu/Thu 2:00-3:15pm

A New Way of Thinking

For many years I would pick up a health or fitness magazine and failed to recognize how image driven they actually are. When we flip through a health magazine we are likely to find more than half of its content centered on appearance. Our class discussions brought me to realize that our society uses health media to encourage the “perfect” thin, white body rather than actual health. Media has also used the female athlete to portray this image, further strengthening the value of beauty over health and athletic capabilities. I always knew that, as a society, we have an obsession with looking good, but I was not aware of how serious it could get. When health, personal growth, and athletic achievements are undermined while appearance prioritized, we have a true issue at hand. I have realized that our priorities in society need to be straightened out. The question I am left with is: how do we begin this change?

-Anat Journo