Apparently, not even winning a gold medal can save you from being eviscerated in the media based on your looks.
This story has been told time and time again, and yet, no one is willing to stand up and do something about it. Female representation in the media is misguided and maddening, especially when it comes to female athletes. Their accomplishments are rarely covered, and when they are, they’re shown as shocking victories, as if the idea of women winning is a ludicrous one. As a former female athlete, I’m insulted and as a current young woman, I’m appalled.
Back in 2012, Olympian Lolo Jones gave an interview on the “Today” Show in which she talked about how she was being criticized based on her physical appearance. The fact that she qualified for her event was absent from the article to which she was referring. This is a common theme throughout American media. Female athletes are belittled by the media, who only focuses on superficial qualities rather than athletic achievements. Jones was being criticized for using her sexuality to garner media attention instead of her athletic achievements. While she was not the best hurdler in the 2012 Olympics, she is still a female athlete that made it to the Olympics, a feat alone should be celebrated.
Another athlete that was criticized on superficial grounds in the 2012 Olympics was Gabby Douglas, the tiny powerhouse gymnast who won a gold medal for her floor routine. After her performance, the Internet screamed about…her hair? I’m sorry, but are we kidding? The girl was flipping, rolling, and dancing around a static-infused carpet for an entire routine, and you think her hair is not going to be a little out-of-place? Come on. Any girl who’s played sports knows that it is impossible to keep your hair looking posh and prim when you’re competing. I’m sure the girl had more important things than her hair to focus on during her routine, like not landing wrong and breaking her ankle in five places, for example. She just won a freaking gold medal, leave her alone.
A little closer to home at the University of Florida, there are amazing female athletes and sports teams. We have everything from gymnastics and volleyball to soccer and lacrosse. Most people don’t even realize how good our girls’ teams actually are. I was talking to a friend the other day about the gymnastics team, who after beating Oklahoma at home a few weeks ago moved their way into the number one spot in the NCAA rankings, and when I told her about this, she was in awe. She had no idea the gymnastics team even existed, let alone that we are ranked so highly. Conversely, if you asked her about the Men’s Basketball team ranking, she could spout off stats as if she were an ESPN commentator. People all over campus claim to be Gator fans, but don’t even know what sports exist outside basketball, football, or baseball.
It’s difficult to convey the disrespect inherent in those superficial reports of female athletes because those kinds of reports have become so ingrained in our everyday rhetoric. Can you even name five female athletes who aren’t Olympians? I’m ashamed to say that I can’t, although I probably couldn’t do that for male athletes either. Regardless, female athletes work as hard as their male counterparts and should be treated in the media as such. All we want is a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and we shouldn’t have to beg you (or do a sexy photo shoot) to get it.
Featured photo courtesy of: BBC
