Women in Sports
Haley Frodsham
A Brief History
Prior to the 1970’s, women participating in athletics was solely recreational and not competitive. Women were stressed to refrain from excessive athletic activity because it was said to play sports was inappropriate not feminine. Athletic activities were informal, had no rules and not competitive. In the early 1900’s women began pressuring for rights to participate in competitive sports and began forming clubs. The opportunities for women changed dramatically in America when President Richard Nixon signed Title IX making it a law. This law was a requirement by the Federal Legislation for the recognition and participation of women in sports, attempting to make women and men on equal playing fields in athletics. Recognition and federal funding is now required for woman to participate in athletic sports and teams, as well as the avoidance of sexual discrimination in sports, although it is still commonly seen. (Bell, “A History of Women in Sport Prior to Title IX”, 2008)
Prior to the 1970’s, women participating in athletics was solely recreational and not competitive. Women were stressed to refrain from excessive athletic activity because it was said to play sports was inappropriate not feminine. Athletic activities were informal, had no rules and not competitive. In the early 1900’s women began pressuring for rights to participate in competitive sports and began forming clubs. The opportunities for women changed dramatically in America when President Richard Nixon signed Title IX making it a law. This law was a requirement by the Federal Legislation for the recognition and participation of women in sports, attempting to make women and men on equal playing fields in athletics. Recognition and federal funding is now required for woman to participate in athletic sports and teams, as well as the avoidance of sexual discrimination in sports, although it is still commonly seen. (Bell, “A History of Women in Sport Prior to Title IX”, 2008)
You throw like a girl!
This ad was created by Dove and aired in the 2015 Super Bowl. It gives us an example one of the catch phrases "like a girl" that are used negatively today and discriminate women. #likeagirl is one of many attempts in today's society to fight against the discrimination and to help growing girls gain confidence.
(Superbowl 2015, "Always Like a Girl")
Publication: Cagle Cartoons, Florida Today Date: 2003
Cartoonist: Jeff Parker
U.S./International: U.S
Cartoon Title: Big Man On Campus
Cartoon: #5
1. Negative framing of the issue.
2. Framing supportive to supporters of women's rights.
3. Framing opposed to opponents of women's rights.
In this cartoon we are shown the discrimination between male and female athletics at the high school level. Here we can see the different amount of awards given to both athletes, the greater amount being received by the male.
The male athlete in this cartoon is clearly more celebrated than the female. The discrimination between male and female athletes is exaggerated here as the male is receiving more trophies as well as being covered in confetti. The trophies are labeled and help explain context of this cartoon. Looking at the males trophies first the one in the bottom right corner that says, “Better chance of athletic scholarship.” This saying that after high school education, entering college, boys are more likely to receive scholarships to play sports than girls. The trophy on the bottom left says, “Make Press Coverage”, hinting that men gain real media coverage in sports, in comparison women receive very little. The top left trophy says, “Big Bucks”. Women's Sports Foundation states that in the collegiate level, “Although the gap has narrowed, male athletes still receive 55% of college athletic scholarship dollars, leaving only 45% to be allocated to women” (Women’s Sports Foundation). As athletes move into the professional level the gap widens even greater with men being paid sometimes quadruple then what women make in the same sport. For example, in the WNBA the maximum yearly salary is $89,000 while the NBA maximum salary is $15.355 million yearly (Women’s Sports Foundation). The trophy on the top right of the man says the word “Accolades” which is defined as, “an award or privilege granted as a special honor or as an acknowledgment of merit” (Oxford Dictionaries). The final males trophy in his arms says, “State of the Art Facilities.” USA Today reported in 2004 of two high school football teams that spent 20 million dollars a piece on two new football stadiums (Wieberg, S. 2012, October 6).
In comparison to the males many trophies, this female athlete receives only one small trophy that says, “Doesn't Throw Like a Girl.” The common phrase of “throw like a girl” is used as an insult to demean the athletic ability of another. It shows that girls are thought of as weaker and less able athletes and this is undesired. This girl athlete is receiving an award and being recognized for not throwing like her gender, which is viewed as a negative thing in this cartoon. We may also note that her jersey number is 2, maybe indicating that her and women sports comes second.
This cartoon is negative framing in contrary to girl athletes and women’s rights supporters. It isn't in line with the law Title IX. Title IX became a law in 1972, prohibiting discrimination based on sex in schools that are under federal funding, this also includes the athletic programs. Schools, since this point, have focused on ensuring fairness in schools girls athletic programs. This law has made possible more opportunities for girls and women in athletics, but still fault providing equal fairness. Benefits and resources are not equal between the male and female sports programs in schools. (Athletics, National Women’s Law Center). In this cartoon the reality of discrimination between girls and boys high school sports, eventually filtering into a collegiate and professional level, is framed correctly.
Publication: Chakri’s Cartoons
Date: October 19, 2009
Cartoonist: Chakri Gajula
U.S./International: International, Vancouver, Canada
Title: Sports Cartoon 3
Cartoon: #6
1. Negative framing of the issue.
2. Framing supportive to supporters of women's rights.
3. Framing opposed to opponents of women's rights.
Chakri Gajula is a cartoonist known for his sport and Olympic cartoons. In the particular cartoon we see a female pole jumper trying to clear not just a normal bar, but a line of clothes. Indicating that her responsibility is the laundry and the athletic world and household world are both coming together as one. United States Department of Labor did a study in 2014 of housework done with a comparison of women and men. It was found that on an average day, 49 percent of women did housework, which could be things such as doing laundry or cleaning, while only 19 percent of men participated in such activities. Only 43 percent of men participated in food preparation or clean up while a larger 68 percent of women did such things. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, "American Time Use Survey Summary", 2014)
This is a negative framing of the issue and supporting those opposed. This can be understood by the expression on the jumpers face, one of unhappiness. This cartoon is opposed to opponents, by raising awareness of the unfairness between household work and sports. It is ironic that she is not only attempting to clear a bar, but a line of clothing. It is showing that in todays society a female cannot participate in another activity without her household responsibilities tagging along. The clothes on the line instead of a normal bar may say that what is expected of women is in fact restricting the gender from other opportunities, such as succeeding in sports. The reality constructed here about women oppression in sports is that maybe this athlete shouldn’t be participating in the sport at all but rather she should stay in the house.
In this cartoon we see the response of the viewers on twitter of the 2012 London Olympic Games. At first glimpse this cartoon appears joyous and celebratory of two U.S. Olympic Champions. However, when looked at more closely, the true negative tone and discrimination of sexes is apparent. To understand this cartoon we must know who is shown and the significant events that took place at the time this cartoon was drawn. On the right we see Gabby Douglas. Gabby was known as “The Flying Squirrel” in the 2012 Olympics and became the third straight American to win women’s all-around gymnastic title and first African-American (ESPN, "Gabby Douglas wins all-around title ", 2012). Even though this was Gabby Douglas’s second gold medal of the games, making her the best in the world, she was criticized by many because of her hair. Twitter feeds exploded in the hashtag #GabbyDouglasHair as people discussed the need for a good hairdresser. Pictured on the left we see another Olympic Champion, Michael Phelps. This swimming athlete finished his career with a total of 22 medals, 18 of those being Gold. He has twice as many Gold Medals than any other Olympic athlete (ESPN, "Michael Phelps, U.S. win medley relay", 2012). This cartoon reflects the response of some to Gabby Douglas during the 2012 Olympic Games. Here we have two champion athletes of the games, both winning gold, but with different response. Michael Phelps, praised for his world record setting accomplishments receives a tweet from so called “Debbie Smith” saying how proud she is to be an American because of him. Then we see her response to Gabby Douglas’s winnings, calling her to the need of a hairbrush. Fulfilling the “@debbiedowner” title. This cartoon symbolizes the discrimination between men and women in sports. Even though they both won both, it is ironic that the response to Gabby was negative just for a physical trait. In this cartoon the drawing on Gabbys side is darker, more shading and less attractive. The response to this event is realistically drawn in this cartoon. Are women judged more harshly than men when it comes to physical traits? Would Michael Phelps have had negative tweets trending about him if he had a negative physical aspect, or no because he is male? This controversy is presented in this cartoon, emphasizing the discrimination of women in athletics despite great amounts of success. |
Publication: Managing Design Editor
Date: August 5, 2012 Cartoonist: Alicia Kovalcheck U.S./International: U.S. Title of Cartoon: Male and Female Athletes Public Response to Olympic Success Cartoon: #7
#GabbyDouglasHair |
Publication: Title IX’s Fault
Date: January 31, 2003
Cartoonist: Mike Keefe
U.S./International: U.S.
Title of Cartoon: Title IX’s Fault
Cartoon: #8
- Negative framing of issue.
- Framing opposed to supporters.
- Framing supportive to opponents.
In this cartoon Mike Keefe showed the audience a negative outcome of Title IX. This law was made to try and end discrimination among women and sports. Giving them the funds and opportunity to participate. However, because of the needed funds, this resulted in the loss of money in certain sports. Schools across the country lost different types of sports in their school and some sports, like football, receive a larger amount of the money. The Title IX law has created a problem between mens sports and womens which in the long run has affected less popular sports. Some schools have had to cut sports like swimming which had athletes and add a less popular sport like women’s rowing, just to meet with numbers. People have begun to push to reform Title IX and make more changes, which could affect things at a college level greatly. Eric Pearson, the chairman of the American Sports Council, disagrees with the called for reform of Title IX. Pearson believes that the money should be divided by success and interest. Not a 50/50 split between men and women. 57% of undergraduates at U.S. colleges and universities are women, but only make up 43% of the schools’ student athletes. Pearson said in a 2012 interview, “What schools have to do,” Pearson continued, “is find ways to meet that ratio. And either they can elevate their numbers of the women’s side, or cut down the numbers on the men’s side. So that is what we feel is unproductive for both male and female athletes” (Pearson, "Title IX’s Impact On Men’s Sports", 2012).
Keefe’s cartoon shows a college football athlete sitting on a large bag of money as another athlete with a racket walks by. The football player calls out saying, “It’s Title IX’s fault.” The other athlete is carrying a bag that is labeled, “discontinued mens sports.” He symbolizes all athletes and sports that suffer from this law. To try and make things equal with men and womens sports, we lose other athletic opportunities. The size of the bag of money may be an exaggeration of the amount that football players actually make. It is ironic that in this cartoon a woman athlete does not exist, because women too are affected by this. The tone of this cartoon is negative and represents the reality that although attempts are made, inequality and discrimination exists in athletics. Not only among women and men, but between different sports too.