“We want to see you sex it up and be slutty:” post-feminism and sports media’s appearance double standard

“Powerful Lessons” in Women’s Sport: ESPN’s Nine for IX Series

“…Furthermore, Let Them Wear Towels (Stern and Sundberg, 2013) provides context for the continued hostility against women in sports journalism. In 2019, women still face gender-related barriers (Harrison, 2019), while harassment extends beyond the locker rooms into online environments (Antunovic, 2019; Macur, 2016). Thus, these films are not merely stories of historical moments, but examples of continued challenges women in sports face.…”

From Taped Up to Mic’d Up: Experiences of Former Athletes and the Meaning of Athletic Identity in Sports Media Spaces

“…On the other hand, the production of an “in” group for former athletes in sports media may divide women in a space where it is to their strategic advantage to unify together and develop a “critical consciousness” which can lead to liberating disruptions of hegemonic practices (Claringbould & Knoppers, 2012, p. 414). Rather, the promise of inclusion in a higher status “group” reflects a common discursive process in which women are presented with a choice that may provide short-term gain, but undermines their advancement over the long term (e.g., Harrison, 2019).…”

“…In order to navigate that bias, women are presented with a choice: internalize and adopt a hegemonic value system that may provide short-term benefits in the way of select inclusion in high status spaces or risk seeing their careers stall (e.g., Hardin & Shain, 2006; Hardin & Whiteside, 2012; Harrison, 2019). Yet, adopting a value system grounded in hegemonic masculinity—such as highlighting their sexuality through wardrobe choices (Harrison, 2019) or taking on a “motherly” role at work (Hardin & Whiteside, 2012)—simultaneously invites criticism aimed at their professionalism and ability to do their jobs. Indeed, as Genovese (2014, p. 66) writes, the concern over credibility is “especially burdensome” for women in sports broadcasting and thus questions about professionalism and legitimacy must be understood as gendered issues.…”

Recontextualizing Barstool Sports and Misogyny in Online US Sports Media

“…Female sports anchors are not only assessed upon their knowledge of the sport, but also whether their appearance is attractive to men (Sheffer & Schultz, 2007). Harrison (2019) utilizes the term “nightclubification” to describe the producer-related pressure placed on many female sports journalists to dress in revealing or provocative clothing. Such trends match those found in research examining non-sports forms of television news that found that female newscasters were more likely to be sexualized than their male colleagues (Nitz et al, 2007).…”

“…Audience reception for female sports journalists is filtered through a “homosocial cultural sphere” that instills “men with psychological separation from the perceived feminization of society while also providing dramatic symbolic proof of the ‘natural superiority' of men over women” (Messner, 1988, p. 200). Mirroring the trend of “nightclubification,” Cummins et al (2019) found that women were more susceptible to visual objectification by viewers than men (Harrison, 2019). Viewer emphasis on women’s appearance has a complicated relationship with perceived competence correlated with attractiveness until women are seen as being too attractive (Davis & Krawczyk, 2010).…”