Media Portrayal of Women in Sports Essay

The stilt media and all its components permit al directions played an essential role in shaping the office friendship views and thinks about certain issues and final results. The type bow, which television receiver shows, radio set shows and divers(prenominal) spiritualists of down media maintain on their audiences, go widely unchecked by the professionals involved in that region and by society in general. The personal effects could be damaging and entirely maladaptive and yet only a few organizations and individuals take on the role of serving as the counterchecking segment of the products of this industry.One of the many fields into which mass media have dipped their fingers into is the field of recreations. What little attention is transmitn to the effects of mass media on society is focused on childrens shows, violence-related topics and religion-based issues. The field of sports has been relatively untouched by those who monitor the mass media. The public has m ainly stood by and accepted the randomness and manner of bring outation that mass media has taken with regards to sports.This type of attitude has turn out to be increasingly damaging to women in contingent. Sports has be comply a highly sex activity-based field. Despite efforts to assimilate women into the various games and competitions, it has become increasingly evident, despite the deficiency of monitoring organizations, that mass media has non gone beyond the days of crook towards women in sports. in that location atomic number 18 still many issues that need to be addressed in terms of how television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and other such media have come to portray women professionals in the field of sports.How does mass media affect the way their audiences savvy women athletes and other female sports professionals? What steps can be taken to worsen wrong practices in this field? This paper aims to answer these questions as surface as to specifically underst and the way mass media has shown females involved in various sports activities and whether on that point truly is reason for these women to be concerned.Television insurance coverage of Women in Sports Of all the incidentors of mass media avail fit today, the television set is mayhap the most successful and most popular. It has invaded the living spaces of almost all homes world(a) and is able to communicate to its audience in much more than modalities than that offered by other instruments of mass media. It likewise allows for coverage of returns at the exact heartbeat the said proceeds occurs. Research regarding how women have been portrayed through the medium of television has been much more numerous as opposed to interrogation on portrayal via other mediums. The literature regarding this enquiry has shown that women in sports have been greatly marginalized and stereotypic. The following section pull up stakes delve deeper into this aspect of mass media coverage in s ports. The most encompassing research done on television coverage of women in sports may be that of Higgs & Weiller (1994). They conducted a research to assess gender bias in the television coverage of the 1992 Olympic games. The two researchers demonstrate much to disappoint the many women athletes involved in the said games as well as all other women who were incisively as concerned about womens rights, equality of the sexes, and politically illuminate representation of males and females in different fields. Commentators of the different events in the Olympic games were remark to most commonly use terms such as little girl babe and sweetheart to refer to the women competitors whereas none of the male competitors were referred to as boy even when the contestant was obviously of a precise young age. Also, force play and weakness descriptions and allusions were clearly gender-biased. Men in swimming were lauded for their strokes whereas female swimmers would start out comme nts such as a powerhouse of a stroke from a 16-year old girl. There were clearly ways by which the commentators were able to inject their own disfavour views of the genders of the competitors. There were also findings pointing to the fact that events wherein males competed were air out for long-lasting metres than those where females competed. Time differentials were noted for each event and there was a noted significant difference for each. This was applicable for such sports as basketball, volleyball, and the likes. Although individual events such as gymnastics were prone to have more airtime dedicated to women athletes, these were highly edited and sometimes even spliced together. Each transport was also done with use of narratives. This was to draw the audience deeper into the mood of the game. However, researchers found that games with men contestants were broadcast with narratives of competition and strength. Women contestants, on the other hand, were often accompanied b y emotional narratives pertaining to the athletes aspirations and the achievement of these with their success in the particular event they were entered in. If emotional narratives were not used by the television broadcasters, none at all were provided. It was either emotional or not at all. It is therefore, a well-known fact that ambivalence in insurance coverage of womens sports on television exists. There is a denial of power for women in this particular type of mass media. Although women athletes argon equally as capable and equally as competent as their male counterparts, this is not credited by professionals reporting their games. Where women have been noted for their involvement in sports, negative allegations and discriminative reporting have served to undermine the efforts of these athletes. communicate Coverage of Women in Sports Radio coverage of women in sports has also been one of the more devastating instruments of undermining womens efforts and women participation in various sports activities. The radio set, however, is less of a limb of the mass media at present than the television set. The radio set does not cater to the visual modality of its audiences and as such may assay less of a weapon. However, it is also advantageous because reporting of the showy event can occur at the same time that the actual event occurs. This nastys that up-to-the-minute, live coverage is possible. However, airing time on the radio set is significantly less for sports events than that on television sets. The large dowery of non-recognition that goes on in television broadcasting of women participation in sports is thereof multiplied by great factors on the radio set. Only throttle numbers of sports are chosen to be reported and reviewed over the radio and most, if not all, of these are male-dominated sports.Sporting events that are not action-packed, that do not provide the reporter with a message honest of strength, adrenaline, and passion are not mark etable on the radio waves. And because of the trend and well-established fad of reporting male events and male athletes with narratives involving competition, strength, and passion, these are the events that radio broadcasters and radio networks focus on.Women-dominated sports and women athletes uphold to be less of a popular choice of broadcasting for professionals in the radio industry as these founders them, to their perception, with a softer story that is not full of the characteristics they look for in reportable stories and which audiences will not much regard or listen to. Thus the perception that male athletes and male-dominated clean events will have more popularity than their counterparts.Publication Coverage of Women in Sports Another instrument used in mass media are magazines and other similar produce sources. These cater only to the audiences visual modalities and are not able to give audio feedback. Also, publications such as newspapers and magazines are only abl e to give a reporting of the event after a period of time has elapsed. It cannot be addicted during the time the actual event occurs. A attend to time for writers, photographers, layout artists, editors, publishers and other personnel involved in the production process is required. Thus newspapers come one day after the events have occurred and magazines are released at particular time intervals within the year monthly, quarterly, annually, and the like. A correction by Hardin et al (2005) showed that women were often portrayed as sexually different even in sports magazines. Sexually different in sports can mean the portrayal of women as dissimilar. This can be shown through the presentation of sport type in the said magazine or given publication. This could be shown in a manner such that women, who participate in sporting events wherein women are not usually included as competitors, are either excluded or represented as manly. However, it has been seen that certain sporting ma gazines have been very generous to the female component of sporting activities. However, this balance is only present in magazines that have been produce through the efforts of staff that were consciously apprised of the disparity in gender reporting of sports events. These magazines are, more commonly, actively trash for womens equality in this field. As such, they are few and not representative in the publishing industry. It should be acknowledged, however, that such magazines were launched and that these were successful in their goals. Perhaps this will provide the much needed gender-equality into the field of sports and mass media. Although these types of magazines form the minority in published mass media, they offer swear and raise out a parole of challenge to their colleagues, a cry for gender-equality and female liberation from the marginalization and disempowerment occurring in their field.Conclusion The large discrepancies in sports portrayals of women athletes has be en seen to be significant in all mediums of mass media specifically that of the television set, the radio set, and published sources. Women have been marginalized, stereotyped, and stripped of power through the way these mass media instruments have been used to represent their participation in sports activities. However, no matter how anyone looks at it, this type of portrayal is unwarranted and unnecessary. Women have mediocre as much talent, skill and capability as their male counterparts. The efforts they conserve in order to actively and competently engage in their given sporting event is equally similar to that which males exert. The strain and stress they allow during training and during the actual competition are just as trying and exhausting as that which male athletes experience. In all respects, female athletes should be considered and hailed as equal to male athletes. However, this has not been the case. Mass media, whether through television, radio, or magazines, has proven to be unforgiving and thoughtless in bringing nicety to the efforts of women athletes. There is a great need for change and renewal in the way mass media portrays females. One of the best first steps towards a better and more fair portrayal of women in sports is by actively disseminating information about the marginalization and disempowerment that is occurring. Most audiences and most reporters are mayhap so tied down to the hegemony of sports and mass media that they are no longer aware when stereotypical remarks are made on air. Knowledge of the fact that sports is for both females and males and that both sexes are equally capable of succeeding in this field must be spread. Without awareness, there is no chance for gender issues to be resolved in this field. It would, perhaps, also be constructive for organizations and bodies to be set up that would monitor the violations to womens rights that occur during broadcasting of sporting events. This would help to check the pre judiced actions and comments of those involved in the mass media industry. This would also make other individuals aware that what is currently going on is not grateful and that there is a growing need for better interference and appreciation of women athletes. There is still much improvement that can be done to the way mass media portray women. Mass media has come to influence the way society thinks in that women themselves have congregated around socially acceptable sports. Only the few who are not afraid of being dubbed masculine are able to compete in the sports where the male sex has dominated. There should be adequate measures taken to ensure that future biased and stereotyped thoughts will no longer exist. Women portrayal in sports still has hope to become much more fair and with this hope comes the assurance free women participation in sports will also become less prejudiced and stereotyped.ReferenceHiggs, C., & Weiller, K. (1994). Gender bias and the 1992 summer Olympic g ames an analysis of television coverage. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 18, 234-246Hardin, M., Lynn, S., Walsdorf, K. (2005). Challenge and conformity on contested terrain images of women in four womens sport/fitness magazines. Sex Roles, 53(1), 105-117