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Communication and Sport

The last quarter century has seen a dramatic movement of girls and women into sport, but this social change is reflected unevenly in sports media. This study, a five-year update to a 25-year longitudinal study, indicates that the quantity of coverage of women’s sports in televised sports news and highlights shows remains dismally low. Even more so than in past iterations of this study, the lion’s share of coverage is given to the ‘‘big three’’ of men’s pro and college football, basketball, and baseball.

The study reveals some qualitative changes over time, including a decline in the once-common tendency to present women as sexualised objects of humor replaced by a tendency to view women athletes in their roles as mothers. The analysis highlights a stark contrast between the exciting, amplified delivery of stories about men’s sports, and the often dull, matter-of-fact delivery of women’s sports stories.

The article ends with suggestions for three policy changes that would move TV sports news and highlights shows toward greater gender equity and fairness.
 

 
  • The publication is free to access and may also be downloaded directly from sagepub.com

 

Tags

United States
North America
American football
Basketball
Other
5 - Gender equality
Girls and women
Policymakers
https://www.sportanddev.org/research-and-learning/resource-library/it%E2%80%99s-dude-time-quarter-century-excluding-women%E2%80%99s-sports

Resource Details

SVG
Journal Articles
2015
Files
450.34 KB, pdf

Tags

Country
United States
Region
North America
Sport
American football
Basketball
Other
Sustainable Development Goals
5 - Gender equality
Themes
Target Group
Girls and women
Policymakers