Male Athletes, Female Aesthetics: The Continued Ambivalence Toward Female Athletes in ESPN’s The Body Issue

Cranmer, Gregory A.; Brann, Maria; Bowman, Nicholas David

doi:10.1123/ijsc.2014-0021

Cited by 46 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Other means of segregation includes the sexualisation and trivialising of women as athletes and as coaches (e.g. Norman, 2008;2010;2012;Cooky et al, 2010;Cranmer et al, 2014). On a micro level, current research has shown that women coaches report feeling segregated in the workplace demonstrated by being left out of (predominantly male) networks in order to learn about educational and promotional opportunities, report poor working relationships with men and describe feeling 'left out' of decision making roles and not feeling integral to their organisation or male coaching colleagues who display often different norms and values which run contrary to fostering social integration (Allen and Shaw, 2013).…”

Section: Social Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surviving rather than thriving: Understanding the experiences of women coaches using a theory of gendered social well-being

Norman

Rankin-Wright

2016

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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In shifting our gaze to the sociological impact of being in the minority, the purpose of this study was to substantiate a model of gendered social well-being to appraise women coaches' circumstances, experiences and challenges as embedded within the social structures and relations of their profession. This is drawn on indepth interviews with a sample of head women coaches within the UK. The findings demonstrate that personal lives, relationships, social and family commitments were sidelined by many of the participants in order to meet the expectations of being a (woman) coach. We locate these experiences in the organisational practices of high performance sport which hinder women coaches from having meaningful control over their lives. The complexities of identity are also revealed through the interplay of gender with (dis)ability, age and whiteness as evidence of hegemonic femininity within the coaching profession. Consequently, for many women, coaching is experienced as a 'developmental dead-end'. IntroductionThe coaching literature and indeed, sport and gender research more broadly, is saturated with studies and writing around the issue of women's underrepresentation as coaches. The consensus is that the coaching profession has long been and continues to be, a white male dominated occupation and that this is a global issue. Within the UK, the context for the present study, the statistic remains that only one in five qualified coaches are women (Sports Coach UK, 2011). Globally, figures reveal that one in ten accredited Olympic coaches are women (Norman, 2014). To provide country-specific examples, Australia currently have no women as national managers for any sport other than for gymnastics and netball (Robertson, 2016). In Germany, 10% of high performance coaches and 13% of professional coaches are women (Robertson, 2016).Paradoxically, in Finland, a country known for its societal and political embrace of the notions of gender 2 equality, men are in the majority in coaching. In team sports, two thirds of head coaching roles are taken by men (Robertson, 2016). In Canada, the percentage of women in both high performance coaching and university head coaching roles is approximately 20% (Coaching Association of Canada, 2012;Donnelly and Kidd, 2011). Within the UK, the underrepresentation persists despite an improvement in wider social attitudes and legislation towards equality and diversity within the UK society (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2010) and the action in response to this legislative pressure by sporting organisations and national governing bodies. Since the introduction of the 2010 Equality Act by the UK Government, within sport and coaching there has been an increasing interest in and emergence of equalities on the agenda of policy makers and organisations (Nottinghamshire County Council, 2010), as part of a broader trend towards mainstreaming equality across the sectors (Mulderrig, 2007). Sporting governing bodies and organisations are seemingly providing more opportunities for minor...

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Section: Social Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surviving rather than thriving: Understanding the experiences of women coaches using a theory of gendered social well-being

Norman

Rankin-Wright

2016

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…Por otro lado, otras coberturas trivializan las capacidades deportivas de las atletas a través de estrategias de "ambivalencia". Mediante imágenes o representaciones contradictorias, la ambivalencia intenta conciliar la incompatibilidad entre la femineidad y el mundo masculino del deporte (Cranmer, Brann y Bowman, 2014). En este sentido, con imágenes o videos buscarán ridiculizar los talentos deportivos de las atletas, en secciones catalogadas como "burradas", afirmando así el ideal de subalterno asignado históricamente a las mujeres respecto a la posición dominante de los varones.…”

Section: El Rol De Las Redes Socialesunclassified

Influencers, mujeres y running: algunas consideraciones para entender los nuevos consumos deportivos y los estilos de vida saludable

Hijós

2018

Lúdica pedagog.

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ResumenLa apertura lograda por el movimiento feminista ha permitido no solo el crecimiento de la participación femenina en espacios antes vedados, sino también una reconfiguración de los ideales del cuerpo femenino, que continúan en tensión con los estereotipos hegemónicos del cuerpo moderno y atractivo. A pesar de que el running está asociado a una práctica de liberación y encuentro individual, las grandes marcas e industrias deportivas se encargan de reproducir determinadas imágenes colectivas a través de influidores y "embajadores" que imparten consejos en las redes sociales sobre el consumo de ciertos productos asociados a una identidad y estética runner. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las representaciones que se construyen a partir del running, prestando atención a la participación de mujeres en esta práctica, sabiendo que el cuerpo es su elemento central y que el mercado tiene un lugar fundamental para pautar las necesidades. Para ello, reflexionaré sobre mis registros de observación de trabajo de campo y analizaré una serie de publicidades, videos e imágenes en las redes sociales (particularmente Instagram y YouTube), donde esta actividad deportiva es representada, o se autorrepresenta, como modelo del nuevo ideal de individuo y de cuerpo. AbstractThe advances achieved by the feminist movement since the 1970s have also been reflected in athletics, evidenced by exponential growth in women's participation, and by the reconfiguration of the new ideals about the female body, still in a continuous tension between the hegemonic stereotypes of the modern and attractive body constructed by western society. Although running is related to an introspective and individual practice of liberation, important brands and sport industries promote their products linked to a runner esthetic and identity utilizing specific "models," known as influencers or "ambassadors." The objective of this article is to analyze the representations which are constructed in running, with a focus on the participation of women in this sport, understanding that the body is a central element and that the market occupies a fundamental role in determining the "necessities" linked to consumption. To this end, I will reflect on my own fieldwork and analyze a series of advertisements, videos, and images on social media (specifically Instagram and YouTube) in which sporting activities are represented, or self-represented, as models of the new ideal of the individual and the body. ResumoA abertura alcançada pelo movimento feminista permitiu não só o crescimento da participação feminina em espaços antes proibidos, mas também uma reconfiguração dos ideais do corpo feminino, que continuam em tensão com os estereótipos hegemônicos do corpo moderno e atrativo. Apesar do fato de a corrida estar associada a uma prática de libertação e encontro individual, as grandes marcas e indústrias esportivas são responsáveis por reproduzir certas imagens coletivas através de influenciadores e "embaixadores" que dão conselhos nas redes sociais sobre o consumo de c...

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“…According to Jim Brady, Public Editor for ESPN, "The Body Issue is a significant revenue driver for The Magazine, and has generated more advance buzz every year since its debut" (ESPN Ombudsman, 2016). Cranmer et al (2014) examined The Body Issue, and results indicated that "athlete sex is associated with de-emphasized athleticism and sexualized frames, and sport gender is associated with context frames".…”

Section: Espn's Print Publicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A content analysis of pictorial content in entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN): The magazines body issue

Martin¹,

McNary²,

Suh³

et al. 2018

J. Phys. Educ. Sport Manag.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the pictorial content of entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN) The Magazine's Body Issue to determine the type of coverage sportswomen received in the annual special edition. The Body Issue was intended to celebrate the physical characteristics of athletes through visual representation that honored diverse human elements such as body shape, height, and weight. A total of 276 photos were examined. Although it was hypothesized that female sport competitors would be overrepresented on the Body Issue pages, male athletes garnered more photographic coverage than female athletes. Though it was not a significant difference (χ2=3.365, p=0.162), female athletes were photographed more in non-athletic poses than their male counterparts. Gender did not play a role in photo prominence, as a Chi Square test revealed no statistical difference (χ2=14.176, p=0.077). Female athletes who competed in individual sports received more pictorial coverage than female athletes in team sports (χ2=36.010, p < 0.000). Though it appears the special issue's mission was upheld and the study found some advances made in how female athletes were represented in comparison to their male counterparts, much work is still needed before we can truly celebrate progress.

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Male Athletes, Female Aesthetics: The Continued Ambivalence Toward Female Athletes in ESPN’s The Body Issue

Cited by 46 publications

References 28 publications

Surviving rather than thriving: Understanding the experiences of women coaches using a theory of gendered social well-being

Surviving rather than thriving: Understanding the experiences of women coaches using a theory of gendered social well-being

Influencers, mujeres y running: algunas consideraciones para entender los nuevos consumos deportivos y los estilos de vida saludable

A content analysis of pictorial content in entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN): The magazines body issue

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