Women in the Media

From all the topics we covered in class the subjected that intrigued me the most was women in sports and their portrayal and coverage in the media. Women athletes continue to be under-represented in news coverage, and are often portrayed in stereotypical avenues; such as house wives, mother, or being “sexy”. Although there has been a steady increase in the number of women professionals over the past 20 years, most mainstream press coverage continues to rely on men athletics to get there sport coverage. Women in the news are more likely to be featured in stories about accidents, domestic violence, or showing their physical appearanceoff rather than in stories about their professional abilities or expertise. In the latter portion of the semester I got to read articles on women and their portrayal in the media. According to the articleGender in Televised Sports by Center for Feminist Research University of Southern California,  2009 1.6% of airtime was devoted to women’s sports, in contrast to the 96.3% devoted to male athletes.Media images of women in sports are very different from the media images of male athletes in action. It’s disappointing how women in sports are still being considered to be the under dogs in the game and are treated with the inequality’s of media coverage, sports endorsements and the proper recognitions that they deserve.

Stephanie Bruschini (KIN 388I S2)

Fitness Icons

So I stumbled upon an article posted by the WNBA's Twitter that was from Fitness Magazine.  They named the Top 20 Fitness Icons in this article so I decided to check it out.  One thing I was happy with is that 17 out of the 20 were women!  There were a few women who were questionable as to why they were on the list (i.e: Madonna, Gwen Stefani), but never the less it was amazing to see women and also minority women such as Lisa Leslie, the William's sisters, Billie Jean King, Gabrielle Reece, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mia Hamm, and Dara Torres on the list!  Also a good amount of them are athletes who play sports such as basketball, tennis, swim, track, and soccer.  The main thing that upset me about the list though, were the pictures they chose to use to highlight these women.  Of course they were sexualized in their poses, and only two were even in their uniform playing their given sport.  So again its a step forward for women in sports, yet still a step backwards because of how they chose to represent the women in this article.

Tiffany Brickey
KIN 338I W 4-6:45PM

LBSU Sand Volleyball Uniforms

Before this class I never would have taken notice that our sand volleyball team’s uniform includes bikini bottoms whereas the majority of our competition wears shorts. While I was at one match versus USC, I overheard a mother of one of the Trojan athletes criticize the 49er uniforms. She said the bikini bottoms were fine for the AVP tour because they attract revenue and are good for television, but USC’s “more collegiate-looking” outfit was more appropriate for the current event. As a woman, female volleyball player and a student of KIN338I, what she said confuses me to no end, because it asserts that college female athletes should be watched for their skill, but it is acceptable to sell the bodies of the very few female elite athletes who reach the pro level. This reminds me of the discussion in class about the differences in the representation of female athletes in collegiate media guides as opposed to the mainstream media. I can only hope that one day the latter will lend the majority (if not all) of its focus to the skill of female athletes.
-Therese Weed 

Unfair judgements

When I was writing my awareness assignment I came to the harsh realization of how much more privilege males have than their female counterparts. I was looking at the Reebok Reezone shoe commercials and after the class about fat phobia realized that these women are walking around in the shortest shorts and bikinis not for themselves but for the male gaze. After understanding that not all fat people are to be considered unhealthy I thought to myself why does this Reebok ad show only one specific type of lower body extremity (legs and butt). Women come in all shapes and sizes and the reebok ad shows only one specific body type. Men don’t have to live up to this one specific body type standard. For example an overweight successful man is most likely considered sexy. But on the other hand an overweight successful woman is most likely not considered attractive. The privilege of men being judged mostly on their accomplishments instead of their physical looks is a privilege that also needs to be extended to women. Women in sport get affected by this unequal privilege also in the fact that they can be horrible at their sport but if they fit society’s stereotypical view of beauty, they will get paid and receive endorsements that superior athletes should be getting. Basically women are usually being judged in their looks and men in most cases are being judged by their performances. When a female sniper who was the most successful from the Soviet Union came to America to tour the country with Eleanor Roosevelt a reporter asked her why she wore her uniform, it made her look fat.


Richard Bitting

Amanda Beard in the Public Eye

For my Awareness Assignment I focused on one Olympic Athlete that is consistently in the pubic eye. Amanda Beard is a beautiful, strong, and athletic person with much respect in the swimming industry. She is an Olympic medalist, a mother, wife, and inspiration athlete. Within her time in the public eye she has be on the cover of numerous magazine, done hundreds of interviews, and been on National television.

After doing some research I found out that not only is she a public figure, she done a good amount of advertising for different companies. For instance, she posed nude of the cover of Playboy because she has a past in modeling. Not only had she posed nude for one magazine she has posed nude for several. This type of public display allows fans and the public to criticize her motives as an athlete and feminine figure.

In class we have been speaking about the challenge of women being sexualized, trivialized, and marginalized in the media rather than being portrayed as strong, powerful, and athletic. It is interesting that Amanda Beard is all of the above, but not only is she as astonishing athlete she is drop dead gorgeous, has a perfect body, and the an immense amount of sex appeal. This is why she has had the ability to be displayed on the cover of magazines in such a sexual way. But when you look at a photo of Amanda Beard, you do not realize she is an Olympic swimmer, that she has won a multitude of medals for her athletic abilities. What you see is her breasts being exposed, her beautiful face glowing, and her feminine appearance. I can guarantee if she was on the cover of a magazine right now a large portion of the public would have no idea who she is.

The other day I opened an application on my IPhone, "US Weekly" and to my surprise there was an article written about Amanda Beard and her decision pose nude. She was interviewed about her nude photos in the public eye and she apologized for her offense to her fans. She mentioned how she wants the world to see her as a hardworking wife, mother, and athlete. Not just as a sex symbol. She believes that valuing her athletic career is important and spending more time relating herself to her athletic traits will only benefit her in the future.

I just thought it was a coincidence I decided to do my Awareness Assignment on Amanda Beard, and then about a week later she did an interview with Us Weekly Magazine to express her side on posing nude versus posing athletic. And to top it all off, all of this directly related to our class discussions.

Chelsie Kurz
Kin 338I
Wednesday 4-645

      Femaleathletes face pressures that most male athletes do not face when it comes toendorsements and promotional advertisements. Like many women in various careeroutlets, female athletes are plagued by the idea that “sex sells”. When youflip through most magazines, whether they target a male or female demographic,most of the images you find of female athletes portray them in a very hypersexualized manner. The images of female athletes portrayed by most media adssend out a troublesome message to the general public. When young girls seethese ads they get the wrong idea of what it is to be an athlete, specificallya female athlete. When female athletes become sexualized or objectified theylose their athletic identity, more importantly their humanity. It has beenpretty clear throughout time in the world of advertisement and media that sexsells. Because sex makes more money, many female athletes, whether successfulin their craft or not, have jumped onto the “sexy” bandwagon. Female athlete GabrielleReece, a successful American volleyball athlete, has found success and positiverecognition in the world of sports. For four consecutiveyears, Reece was the WBVL kills leader from 1993-1996, she was named theOffensive Player of the Year in 1994-95, and the League blocks leader in 1993. Reecealso competed domestically in the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series, the1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. Gabrielle Reece has also found a way to tap into the mainstreamaudience and become a sort of a household name in comparison to othervolleyball players. She has strayed away from sports and has ventured intofashion. The pictures linked show Reece photographed with her husband. The firstpicture is of Reece from a professional photo shoot with her husband. It isclear that Gabrielle is hyper sexualized, her bathing suit is very revealingand her glare is one of seduction. The second link is a personal photo, onethat is not intended to promote or advertise the athlete and shows her in avery casual and happy manner. The difference is very vivid; although the twopictures show Gabrielle and her husband in swimming suits they both delivery avery distinct message. Although female athletes have reached great strides inthe sport world, they still succumb to the unique pressures constructed towardswomen from media.  

http://www.babygeartoday.com/wp-content/2008/01/00_greece_01.jpg


http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/1007/athletes.beach/images/reece-hamilton.jpg

Edgar D.
Kin338I Sec2

While the 2012 Big West tournament for women's tennis started, the 49ers were most determined than ever. During their staying in Indian Wells, California the 49ers faced UC Irvine. The 49ers crushed the anteaters by starting their day off with a victory from their number 3 doubles. Sarah Cantlay and Julie Luzar won their 22nd match of the season by dominating their opponent 8-2. This showed that Long Beach State was here for business and that they were a serious contender for the title. Long Beach stayed strong and continued to dominate the weak anteaters. In singles Manasse led the way with a strong 6-2, 6-3 vicotry over the anteaters Bryon. The niners were now at a 2-0 lead. Following the Manasse victory Sarah Cantlay stepped up and brought Long Beach State just one win away from victory. Therefore UC Irvine responded with the only vitory of the day with Marcick Mamiit defeating Klaudia 6-2, 6-3 in a singles match. Although UC Irvine showed late signs of a possible come back, Long Beach State finished off with Bernard defeating Goettsching at number 3 singles. The 6-3, 6-4 singles victory brought Long Beach State their second straight Big West Tournament championship. The niners defeated UC Irvine 4-1. This was the first time since 2009 that the 49ers went 11-0 against league foes. Lastly be sure to tune into NCAA.com to view Long Beach State's postseason match up. 

Nancy Dinh  006097817

Women in Sports

Kin 338i

(W) 4-6:45