Denial of Power in Televised Women’s Sports

TLDR

Women’s participation in team and certain individual sports is lower than men’s, and television coverage largely ignores them. The study asks whether these participation and coverage gaps constitute a symbolic denial of power for women. Using hermeneutical analysis, the authors compare televised narratives and visuals of women’s and men’s competitions in basketball, surfing, and marathon running. The analysis shows that women’s sports are reported with ambivalent, often trivializing portrayals that undermine their power, prompting a call for educators to address this imbalance.

Abstract

Televised texts of women’s sports are examined using the hermeneutical method. This study begins with the observation that women’s participation in team sports and certain “male-appropriate” individual sports is significantly lower than men’s participation in these sports. More striking yet is the media’s (particularly television’s) virtual disregard of women in team sports and certain individual sports. On the basis of these observations, the authors frame their research question: Do these imbalances constitute a symbolic denial of power for women? To answer this question, the authors investigate televised depictions of basketball, surfing, and marathon running. In each sport, the television narratives and visuals of the women’s competition are contrasted with those of the men’s competition. These depictions reveal a profound ambivalence in the reporting of the women’s sports, something that is not present in the reporting of the men’s sports. This ambivalence consists of conflicting messages about female athletes; positive portrayals of sportswomen are combined with subtly negative suggestions that trivialize or undercut the women’s efforts. Such trivialization is a way of denying power to women. The authors conclude by asserting that sport and leisure educators have an ethical obligation to redress the imbalance of power in the sporting world.