The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Maddy Oakley, (she/her), LVI, reports on the detriment impact that the media can have on sexism in sports.

Women have been fighting for equality in all aspects of life throughout history, but largely in sport where sexist behaviour is especially rife.Women in sport still face challenges everyday against the deep-rooted sexist attitudes towards female participation. Despite the improvements made in recent times towards reaching gender equality in sports, female athletes are still challenged with numerous obstacles. the mandatory bikini bottoms of the competition. Instead, they chose shorts, and the team were fined a total of 1500 Euros. In the BBC Elite British Sports Women’s Survey, it showed that 65% of respondents had suffered sexism, but only 10% reported it.The figures have worsened over the past five years since the last survey was carried out. In 2015, 41% had suffered sexism, with only 7% reporting it.Athletes said they did not know who to report it to, and that their mostly male coaches would not understand or take them seriously. Women feel their chances of selection for teams or events would be harmed if they stood up and spoke out against sexism. General attitudes: Sport in general used to be thought of as something women were not meant to partake in. However, as the love for sport grew, so did levels of In 2020, the Norwegian women’s volleyball team refused to wear

participation in women and girls. Disappointingly, there were some sports still presented as entirely masculine for example ice hockey.The only sports deemed as ‘feminine’ were ones such as gymnastics or figure skating. Less than 10% of sports media covers women’s sports and less than 2% of sports media covers women’s sports that are deemed ‘masculine’. that remain prevalent in the industry. For example, female athletes experience discrimination by being called ‘manly’ or having their mothering qualities and sexuality questioned.These traditional gender barriers are extremely hard to break, and not only do they reinforce the unequal attention given to female athletes, but they also protect male privilege in sports. Media exposure: The media plays a tremendous role in contributing to the attitudes around female participation. Not only do women’s sports receive poorer quality technical production and less coverage, but women’s sport is also seen as less exciting and slower than men’s sport. The medias lack of coverage minimises the availability of fans being able to view women’s sports that fans view women’s sports.A vicious cycle is created as the lack of coverage leads to less sponsors which leads to less spectators.Although approximately 40% of sport and physical These old-fashioned views create a direct link to the sexist attitudes

activity participants are women, only a small total of 4% of women’s sports receive media coverage. In the eyes of much of the media, women are seen as ‘girls’ whose sporting abilities are simply inferior to men.Women are exploited for their bodies when TV networks use different shots and angles, and female appearance is constantly criticised in inappropriate ways that sexualise women.This contributes further to the negative attitudes towards women’s sport.The media also tends to ignore the sporting achievements made by women by focusing on their physical appearance, femininity and private lives. Gender pay gap: Did you know that out of the top 100 highest payed athletes, only 2 are female - SerenaWilliams and Naomi Osaka? This gap between average earning salaries of male and female professionals widens due to women’s sport receiving dramatically less coverage, sponsorship and marketing. Such low coverage of women’s sports lead to less viewership and a smaller fanbase and the truth is women’s sport will not achieve equal parity if the barriers that keep them in the trenches remain. Every aspect of discrimination and sexism in sport impact the female athletes as well as the young girls these athletes strive to inspire.

Artwork: Alex Garcia, Daily Utah Chronicle

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