Is women's sport sexualized? - Page 15

On June 08 2013 09:08 Ubiquitousdichotomy wrote:


Whoever thought the LFL was a joke forgot to tell this coach

On June 08 2013 09:06 Zahir wrote:


But is it a negative issue, in this case? Some subtle level of sexualization is a definite advantage when one is seeking to captivate the eyes and wallets of a typical sports audience. If women's looks counted for less, their sports leagues would have less money, which means less player salaries, and an even lower level of competition.

Sports fans tend to gravitate towards the highest levels of competition (which generally = away from female leagues). The fact that some of the more perverted among them can be incentivized to do otherwise is hardly evidence of oppression. It's evidence of the power of female sexuality over men, if anything.

On June 08 2013 09:09 Cloud9157 wrote:
I'd say the answer to this thread's question is yes, but it's nothing special. Women in general are sexualized. Look at commercials nowadays. I saw a beer commercial with women in tight dresses and showing off cleavage to a decent extent, all in attempt to link hot women with that beer.

Women in sports is just another extension of appealing to consumers.

On June 08 2013 09:00 ninini wrote:
To claim that women sports isn't interesting, because men can do it better is just stupid. That's like saying that Usain Bolt's raw speed is not impressive, because a Cheetah can outrun him without trying.

I think female individual sports are equally entertaining, because I honestly believe that female athletic performances can be impressive in the same way as male athletic performances, but you need to look at their performance in different contexts. A man running 100m in 10:50 is not very impressive. A woman doing it though, is very impressive, and the reason why is because women have a lesser physical potential, so they need to work harder to reach a certain level, and they will peak at a lower level.

Tennis is one of the few examples where I actually prefer women's competition, and I know I'm not the only one. The modern serve have ruined male tennis imo, because it has slowed down the pacing of the game, and made it too formulaic. I still enjoy Rafael Nadal's play, but most of the other players I find to be too stale, as they rely too much on a strong serve, and don't really have too much to offer beyond that. In female tennis there's still room for players like Agnieszka Radwanska, who doesn't hit very hard, but who makes up for it with her good footwork, tactical sense and tricky and accurate shots. To me she's the most entertaining tennis player right now, male or female.

On June 08 2013 01:04 Orangered wrote:

So why not women bikini basketball then

On June 08 2013 08:11 AUFKLARUNG wrote:
OP, this is a good topic for discussion, but I believe a lot is lost in the manner the first post is written. So, If you think I understand your post correctly, please edit it or add this to tidy things up a bit:

KEY ISSUES:
1. Sports is generally about performance and skills;
2. When it is mediated through mass media, specifically television, due to the media's visual nature, physical attractiveness (face) of the athletes become an important consideration;
3. This practice - emphasis on attractiveness - is more prevalent in women sports more than in men.
A. Physical unattractiveness does not hinder the watchability of a male athlete as long as he excels at his sport (Ribery) but physical unattractiveness (face, or the hesitation towards muscle-bound women like in weighlifting, WNBA, etc.) in women is a crucial factor in deciding an athlete's and the sports popularity.
B. On the converse side, attractive female athletes may and do enjoy immense popularity despite only
C. Media and sports executives encourage and aggressively enforce this phenomenon further be "regulating" the sports to highlight the femininity and sexuality of women, as in dress code.

POINTS OF DISCUSSION:
1. The discussion is not about whether male or female athletes have beautiful faces and bodies;
2. Is this solely because of the demography of the audience/viewer who are predominantly male, thus necessitating in the highlighting of the sexuality of women. Conversely, theoretically, if there were more women audience, would it be logical to conclude that men sports would be significantly sexualized as well?
3. Is this a good thing (sexualization for the sake of watchability)? Is there a women sports which is watch primarily because of the athletes skills, and how does it differ from the general practice of the "sports-entertainment" phenomenon. How do we remove or minimize the objectification of women sports?

On June 08 2013 11:49 electronic voyeur wrote:

Come on, what the fuck is this bullshit! Why do you feel the need to trash on someone's thread and impose your OPINION. The issue is VERY SIMPLE. Sexual attraction is a basic and fundamental human drive. Sports, just like alcohol, is catered to MEN, which is why women are sexualized in order for the product, whether sports or alcohol, to succeed. EASY. CASE SOLVED. Enough of this philosophical mambo jambo here in TL.

On June 08 2013 09:58 Prplppleatr wrote:
Sex sells, men or women

On June 08 2013 22:49 Bleak wrote:
Meh. Sex sells.

I don't get the point of discussing this. Women are sexy to men. It's natural that they're talked about that, as long as they're moderately attractive and fit, which most of the athletes you list are.