Sexualization of women in sport

I recently asked myself the question, “How do toxic messages and myths about running and health get handed down through the generations?

The answer is bigger than the sport of running.

At vulnerable ages, girls are absorbing popular culture around them, which includes being exposed to society’s ideal standards of beauty: white, thin, heterosexual, conventionally beautiful.¹ There is a specific way to look – athlete or not – that is considered attractive and valued. 

When girls see athletes being celebrated for attractiveness and being posed in passive, suggestive positions in major media publications, the message that female sexuality is more important than athletic prowess comes through. This sexualization in sport gives society permission to devalue a female athlete’s power and skill. There is scientific evidence that agrees. 

A 2017 study found that two prominent sports magazines rarely featured female athletes on the cover between 2012-2016. When they did, it was in non-sporting, passive, suggestive and sometimes pornographic poses and images.²

Sports Illustrated and (the now defunct) ESPN the magazine featured male athletes on the cover 90% of the time between 2012-2016. Of the covers with women, 55% showed women in a non-sport setting (like at home with family) compared to 34% of male athletes and 5% of the womens’ covers were considered pornographic compared to 0% of male covers.² 

At the study’s initiation, the researchers hypothesized that SI and ESPN would have improved their depictions of female athletes due to decades of research highlighting the sexualization of female athletes. This was not the case.

“Statistically significant data led us to conclude that female athletes continue to be frequently sexualized and/or featured in ways that emphasize physical and bodily features, thus continuing to enhance cultural notions regarding gender roles and that female athletes are women first, athletes second,” the study’s authors wrote.

I don’t have to think hard to identify sexualization of female athletes over my lifetime. When I was 15, I remember the coverage of Brandi Chastain’s World Cup-winning goal for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. The coverage wasn’t about her history-making goal, but rather about her abs and how she “dared” to take off her shirt. Lindsey Vonn has been sexulized on almost every sports magazine cover, skis often nowhere in sight. Anna Kournakova raked in millions of dollars during the height of her career through endorsements that feature her in what I’ll call “non-athletic” photos. It’s no wonder that for young women the line between “athlete” and “model” is hazy. 

On some level, I’ve known female athletes are sexualized on magazine covers. But then I Googled “female athlete magazine cover.” Looking at this issue with fresh eyes, I was met with unpleasant results. (See the screen recording that accompanies this article.) Olympian soccer goalie Hope Solo in an American flag bikini, no soccer ball in sight. Maria Sharapova posing meekly with an apathetic, uninterested look on her face, no tennis racket anywhere. Race Car driver Danica Patrick in full dominatrix gear (huh?!). Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard naked in Playboy. Olympic softball pitcher Jennie Finch holding a child’s plastic bat and tee ball, for God’s sakes. And as if to punctuate that this unsettling trend isn’t new, a 1999 Sports Illustrated cover with professional basketball player Seimone Augustus with the tagline, “Is She the Next Michael Jordan?” (No. She’s the first Seimone Augustus. Thanks.)

Even Serena Williams is featured passively and sexually on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She appears in a lingerie-like bodysuit and heels. It’s true that she looks beautiful in the photo. But I already knew Serena was beautiful from watching her serve a tennis ball 105 miles per hour. Her power is beautiful. Her skill is beautiful. Her passion for her craft is beautiful. She is the standard tennis players for generations will strive to become. Her influence is beautiful. It’s obvious that Sports Illustrated is not interested in the impact Serena’s capabilities will have on humanity. It’s about selling the magazine.

What all of this information tells me is that, from a young age, a girl receives confusing societal messages that her accomplishments only matter if she is deemed attractive by those around her, usually men. It’s no wonder that poor body image, eating disorders, and perfectionism often begin in the pre-teen and teenage years.

As the research highlights, young female athletes are going to see women’s athletic accomplishments devalued and trivialized. It is up to health care workers, coaches, parents, journalists, and other adults in their lives to provide the truth: women deserve to be valued as the badass, skilled, talented, hard working people that they are. Athletic bodies are all unique and will look different from each other, even within the same sport. How you treat your body matters. Female athletes deserve recognition for their athletic accomplishments and their value is not dependent on their appearance.

“Media scholars, editors, journalists, strategic communications practitioners and others interested in this topic must advocate for a change in the content of media, especially media targeted at adolescent boys and girls,” the study’s authors wrote. “An increase in positive media images of women athletes in uniform, for example, could be used to change perceptions of the sexualized and overly-thin standard portrayal of females currently dominating our media.”

1. Aulette, Judy Root. (2012). Gendered worlds. New York :Oxford University Press, USA
2. Frisby, C., PhD. (2017). Sexualization and Objectification of Female Athletes on Sport Magazine Covers: Improvement, Consistency, or Decline? International Journal of Humanities and Social Science (June 2017), Issue 7, vol 6. Retrieved from https://www.ijhssnet.com

Katie Noble is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a journalist, and a runner. She enjoys empowering and supporting female runners with evidenced-based education.