“Who is your favorite basketball player?”. This is a question I have been asked numerous times because I play basketball. When I was younger I would always say Kobe Bryant because he was one of the only players I actually knew about. Later on, I became more interested in the professional leagues of basketball and I discovered Sue Bird. She became my favorite. However, it was not through the media I discovered Sue Bird. On the contrary, I do not even remember watching advertisement for WNBA in the same amount of advertisement for NBA. Luckily, I did notice Sue Bird and as a female athlete it is important for me to have a female role model to look up to.
I would probably not have discovered any female athletes that could be my role model. One …show more content…
The Carl’s Jr. commercial from 2015, where the fast food chain advertises for the “Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger”, depicts skinny white females playing beach volleyball wearing skimpy bathing suits. The focus is on the attractiveness rather than the sport. Furthermore, the females are portrayed as sex objects and the men as strong and masculine. But wait, why are female playing volleyball even used for a commercial for a burger? I argue that Carl’s Jr.’s commercial communicates how media can degradingly depict stereotypical gender roles within sports, and what implications that come with, and furthermore display that the side of women’s sports the public sees is rather sexual than athletic. In the following, I will discuss the use of nonverbal communication in Carl’s Jr.’s commercial, Title IX, stereotypical gender roles, and the depiction of female athletes in the media and concluding on my thesis …show more content…
The Title IX promised equal opportunity to participate in athletics, equal proportions of scholarships and, amongst others, equivalent equipment, practice times, tutoring, coaching, facilities, publicity, and support services (Wood 173-174). Even though the Title IX applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance ("Title IX and Sex Discrimination."), the conditions are not exactly respected. Being a male athlete at the collegiate level has more benefits than being a female athlete at the same level. There is even a difference in coaching a men’s team and coaching a women’s team, where coaches of men’s team have more financial support (Wood 174). As mentioned, equal publicity is also a part of the Title IX, which means that there should be equal representation of women’s and men’s sports in the media, however, this is not the case. One example of misrepresentation of gender within sports was seen during the 1996 Olympics. The total percentage of women’s sports coverage on ESPN’s Sportscenter and CNN’s Sports Tonight added up to 8.7 %. Having in mind that female athletes counted for 40 % of the participants, this shows that the Title IX is not necessarily respected (Grau
I would probably not have discovered any female athletes that could be my role model. One …show more content…
The Carl’s Jr. commercial from 2015, where the fast food chain advertises for the “Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger”, depicts skinny white females playing beach volleyball wearing skimpy bathing suits. The focus is on the attractiveness rather than the sport. Furthermore, the females are portrayed as sex objects and the men as strong and masculine. But wait, why are female playing volleyball even used for a commercial for a burger? I argue that Carl’s Jr.’s commercial communicates how media can degradingly depict stereotypical gender roles within sports, and what implications that come with, and furthermore display that the side of women’s sports the public sees is rather sexual than athletic. In the following, I will discuss the use of nonverbal communication in Carl’s Jr.’s commercial, Title IX, stereotypical gender roles, and the depiction of female athletes in the media and concluding on my thesis …show more content…
The Title IX promised equal opportunity to participate in athletics, equal proportions of scholarships and, amongst others, equivalent equipment, practice times, tutoring, coaching, facilities, publicity, and support services (Wood 173-174). Even though the Title IX applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance ("Title IX and Sex Discrimination."), the conditions are not exactly respected. Being a male athlete at the collegiate level has more benefits than being a female athlete at the same level. There is even a difference in coaching a men’s team and coaching a women’s team, where coaches of men’s team have more financial support (Wood 174). As mentioned, equal publicity is also a part of the Title IX, which means that there should be equal representation of women’s and men’s sports in the media, however, this is not the case. One example of misrepresentation of gender within sports was seen during the 1996 Olympics. The total percentage of women’s sports coverage on ESPN’s Sportscenter and CNN’s Sports Tonight added up to 8.7 %. Having in mind that female athletes counted for 40 % of the participants, this shows that the Title IX is not necessarily respected (Grau