MEDIA EXPOSURE FOR FEMALE ATHLETES

Women have been fighting for equality all throughout history. There was a time when women were not even permitted to watch or participate in the Olympic Games. Things have improved since then but to this day, female athletes still experience significantly less and different media coverage than their male counterparts.

Despite the improvements towards reaching gender equality in sports, female athletes still face numerous obstacles. The media sometimes still present sports as if there are masculine (e.g., football and ice hockey) and feminine (e.g., gymnastics and figure skating) sports, aligning with traditional expectations of male and female athletes, which makes it more difficult to break traditional gender barriers and allowing women to participate in masculine sports and men to participate in feminine sports. In fact, many female athletes are only accepted by society and receive coverage in the media if they participate in traditionally feminine sports.

If a woman dares to participate in a masculine sport, their sexuality is immediately questioned. The media tends to ignore, which devalues, women’s athletic accomplishments by focusing on their physical appearance, private lives, and femininity and sexuality even if they achieve more impressive athletic feats. This unequal attention may seem minimal to some, but is discrimination, nonetheless. Even if women and girls do not interpret the inequality as discrimination, it can still cause negative consequences like demotivating future female athletes. Let’s take Dutee Chand, first Indian to win a 100-meter gold in a global event for instance. Not many knew Dutee Chand outside the avid sports fans circle of India. The sprinter had won multiple laurels, including silvers in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games last year. But she wasn’t quite the talk of the town. It all changed in May this year when she became the first Indian athlete to come out as a member of the LGBTQ community. Both local and international media got obsessed with it.

Instead of giving so much coverage on their personal lives, it would make more sense if they highlighted their achievements. Media plays a big role in shaping the attitudes of the people towards women's sports. Its high time they give these amazing female athletes the kind of coverage they deserve for what they have done for the countries they are from but also the sport they represent.

PRICE OF PREGNANCY FOR FEMALE ATHLETES

Over the past two weeks, it's become very clear that the world of professional female sports still has such a long way to go.  You're probably wondering what I'm talking about. The US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) won the World Cup....again, as in the 2nd time in a row, Serena Williams is still the G.O.A.T., and Simone Biles just showed the world why she's the best gymnast EVER! 

Well, two weeks ago, sprinter, Allyson Felix, was celebrated for beating the gold-medal record of Usain Bolt at the World Athletics Championship.  This was such a sweet, sweet victory, but not because Felix is a female.  It was a sweet victory because not only did this win come after giving birth 10 months prior, but because Nike was probably kicking themselves for losing a sponsored athlete due to their poor policy on pregnancy.

In March of this year, Allyson Felix told her story through the New York Times describing how Nike had asked her to take a 70% pay cut post pregnancy and could not guarantee that she would not be punished should she not perform as she did prior to pregnancy.  After advocating with other athletes, Nike changed their policy and many other brands have done the same.

However, this past weekend, WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith, made headlines for a tweet about her pregnancy experience as a professional athlete.  In her tweets Diggins-Smith revealed that she was pregnant throughout her 2018 season, while remaining an all star player and told no one. She explained that after delivering her baby she had to take two full months off because of challenges she faced with postpartum depression with limited resources to assist her both, mentally and physically. In addition, she expressed that she felt it was unfortunate to not have any support from her organization, the Dallas Wings.

Therefore, it appears that while female athletes are fighting to get paid equally as their male counterparts, they also need to fight to be mothers. How ridiculous is this?  What are your thoughts? #SHEthletes

OUR MISSION

It is no secret that women’s sports and female athletes do not get the same media coverage compared to their male counterparts. In the United States, women’s sports receive only 4 percent of sports media coverage. This is evident every day when you turn on the TV or visit mainstream sports websites and the majority of front-page stories are dedicated to men’s games and news. However, while the coverage of women’s sports is significantly lower than the men’s it doesn’t mean it is nonexistent and that there isn’t an interest to follow women’s sports.

Fortunately, and contrary to what internet trolls say, the interest in women’s sports is strong and continues to grow every day. The issue is not fully based on the popularity of female athletes but more on how the women’s leagues and teams are marketed, the lack of coverage, and the lack of overall investment in women’s sports. When major tournaments and games are covered, there are consistent high viewership numbers and ratings, which goes to show there is interest in women’s sports. 

Thanks to social media channels we know people are demanding more and better coverage of women's sports and we intend to capitalize on this and help generate more attention toward the achievements of the hardworking female athletes around the world. SHEthlete wants to empower and celebrate all female athletes in their achievements at the local (community), collegiate, professional, and international level by creating an online presence on various social media platforms to highlight them individually and/or in groups. SHEthletes are changing the game of sports and we believe they should be appreciated and judged on their accomplishments and ability rather than by their gender. 

Follow our social media pages on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@SHEthlete), because this is the future of sports.