Kian, Vincent, & Mondello’s (2008) article, “Masculine Hegemonic Hoops: An Analysis of Media Coverage of March Madness” raises some very interesting points about gender in the media presentation of the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Essentially, their argument boils down to the fact that our society seems to value masculinity over femininity, and, as a result, men receive far more favorable and visible coverage during March. Despite the rise of popularity of women’s basketball (e.g., the Women’s Tournament and the WNBA), women are still placed in a gender order behind men, as reflected by the media’s portrayal of the sport.
As a college basketball fan, I know this rings true for me, as it probably does with many of you. For example, when somebody asks if you filled out your bracket, how often do you ask if they mean for the Men’s or Women’s Tournament? I can say that I have never asked this question- it has always been assumed that they were talking about the Men’s Tournament. In this, it is very clear that society still has a long way to go in terms of pulling women’s sport into the spotlight, and the media has a responsibility to facilitate that process. Personally, I think that spending significant air time on ESPN talking about women’s basketball during a time when something extraordinary (e.g., UConn’s win streak) isn’t occurring will be a major step forward.
Additionally, I feel that Kian, Vincent, & Mondello (2008) made some very interesting points about gender portrayal in the media. Perhaps the most striking was that female athletes tend to be compared to their male counterparts in media coverage. The fact that male athletes are the guideposts for athleticism illustrates an inherent bias within the presentation of NCAA basketball and sport in general. I even saw this occur recently in an ESPN article about Baylor star Brittney Griner, whose size was compared to various NBA players, including LeBron James. Of course, NBA players are household names, so it makes sense to compare her to them, however, by continuing to do so, we are continuing to place women’s sports in a secondary position in sport culture.
These are good observations on the reading by Kian et al. (2008). I noticed some of the things that you mentioned in last night's coverage--e.g., when introducing Maya Moore, there were several NBA players who spoke about her talents (Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant) and she was likened to several NBA players. It will be interesting to see if this changing of the guard (Notre Dame and Texas A & M being in the finals) will enhance interest in the women's tournament.
ReplyDeleteWill there ever be a female athlete that can changed the game so radically that a man is compared to her instead of the other way around? Or will it always be followed by a "gay joke." this is the society we live in. No matter how hard women work to make their mark in this world, men will always look at them as second class athletes. But why? I know that not too many years ago, and probably more recent than this example, a women's college basketball player defeated the men's college basketball player in the three point contest when the two were pitted against one another after they had one their respective gender's bracket. Same thng in the NBA and WNBA skills competition. But you know what happened, the man got to blame fatigue for the loss because the woman got to take a breather and the man did not. Perfect example of never letting women win when a man is the competition.
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