Unlike male athletes, female athletes do not have the luxury of being primarily portrayed as athletes, as coverage of their beauty usually overshadows that of their athletic achievements. Depicting female athletes in suggestive poses and clothing, the media promotes a woman first, athlete second attitude.
How does the media objectify sportswomen?
For a long time, coverage of female athletes focused on acceptable feminine behavior from these sportswomen, their personal lives, and physical appearance. This is most of the attention they get, which is already lower compared to male athletes. It is even worse for women of color who don't get the media's attention.
Even sports news commentators make female athlete’s appearances a focus, this looks like when Fox News had a debate about whether female Olympic athletes should wear makeup. Instead of discussing their athleticism, the main question was, “Do women who are elite athletes need to wear makeup to feel stronger, or is it simply a fashion statement?”
This does not only demean the accomplishments of female athletes but also seems to support the idea that these women do not deserve to have news stories that are similar or even better than the stories written about male athletes.
A study of 109 covers from sports magazines from 2010-2016 showed that out of the 12 percent of women covered, only about 21 percent of them were shown in action or in their uniform as compared to about 64 percent for men. This is the size of the disparity that exists.
A few instances are when American swimmer Ryan Lochte said that fellow countrywoman Katie Ledecky swam “like a guy” during an interview with Sports Illustrated or when Norwegian soccer player Ada Hegerberg, after becoming the first woman to win FIFA’s player of the year award, was sexualized when she was asked by French DJ and producer Martin Solveig to twerk on stage. She refused to do so and walked off the stage.
Then, why are many sportswomen complying?
Because the public has not yet deemed women’s sports on par with men’s sports, female athletes have had to accept the media’s objectification to focus on their femininity to gain publicity and money. Since only a few sportswomen actually earn large salaries from playing sports, many accept the media’s objectification because this way they can attain exposure and endorsements. For example, Anna Kournikova does not actually make a lot of money from playing tennis and has never won a major tournament. Instead, she has become the world’s most highly paid women’s tennis player through endorsements that emphasize her femininity and her body over her athleticism.
In terms of their own sense of identity or mental wellness, if sportswomen express strength and independence, which are not traditionally feminine qualities, they are often categorized as masculine and lesbian. To counteract such claims, female athletes assert their femininity through the media.
Sportswomen who accept their portrayal mostly respect the decision of those who oppose it, but some people like Olympic champion swimmers Jenny Thompson and Ashley Tappin, 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. Female athletes who oppose sexualization are confronted with criticism from society and their peers, they lose support, money, therefore leaving them no choice but to comply with the media’s actions. Because their objectification holds a good influence in society since sportswomen who refuse the media’s sexualization only alienate themselves.
While the media’s sexualization does get sportswomen more publicity and money, by concentrating on their personal lives, femininity, and bodies instead of athleticism and skill, the media fails to reflect their accomplishments, demeans women and reduces them to just female bodies, and harms their own image and the perception of women in general.
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