Interrogating inequality in Sports Media

Sports Illustrated Magazine covers for 2013--Gender representations

I researched the cover photographs of Sports Illustrated Magazine for the year 2013 and found that 1 of the 160 covers had a woman in it.  It wasn't even of just a woman, it was two men holding on their shoulders. She was posing in a feminized version of their uniform.  This reveals the delicacy of women and the power/strength of men, thus reinforcing normalized gendered behavior.
The only picture with a female in it still reinforced societies expectation of women.  The men were supporting her with ease while they held her on their shoulders.  The other cover photos were all male, mostly action shots of individual athletes or sometimes specific teams.  Clearly, society views men as the powerhouse and support and women as subversive delicate beings.
Despite all of the woman's rights movements, while they did have an impact, society still views if not thrives off of normalized gendered behavior.  Women are seen as the delicate, poised, subversive, and 'just there to be looked at' objects of sexual pleasure. While men are seen as the support, the tough, the strong, the powerful, the focus, the determination, etc.
My research of 2013 cover photos on Sport Illustrated supports previous researched and knowledge of media and sports.  According to Coakley, media such as magazines is a "very male-oriented network" (429).  Men are seen as "man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. beast" while women are positioned in suggestive postitions or revealed to be powerless (Coakley 429).  Statistics show that "men sports recieved 90 percent of coverage in all the media and images and narratives tend to reproduce traditional ideas and beliefs about gender" (Coakley 429).
There has been a struggle and battle for equality in sports, however, according to the statistics and evidence of the covers on Sports Illustrated magazine, the struggle is far from over.

Resources:
Coakley Chapter 12
http://cnnsi.com/vault/cover/select/2013-01-01/2013-12-31/dd/1/index.htm

Reflecting on the Shame of College Sports: Should NCAA Div 1 Basketball and Football players get paid?

According to the articles, collegiate sport has increased in popularity and in a way become the label for schools.  It's as if they are an individual franchise as opposed to a department of the school.  There have been discussions among presidents of Universities in which decisions concerning the participation of sport in college: "players would 'enjoy the game as participants in a form of recreational competition rather than as professional performers in public spectacles'" (NYT Sport Economy 4).  Today, however, there is nothing recreational about Division 1 sports in college.  Spending on sports on the collegiate level has increased drastically.  For example, yearly salaries for coaches of D-1 school has increased by 650% (3).  While D-1 sports bring in a large amount of money in ticket sales, the cost for the sport is still pricey, forcing more than half of the players to pull from student loans (4). Not only is it demanding money from players, but it is also effecting their grades in a negative way. Tests have shown that athletes are more likely to study less, drink more alcohol and party more often (5).  Despite all of these seemingly negative outcomes of Division 1 sport, there are some positive outcomes as well. For example, sport is one of the only ways the student body knows how to come together as one. 

This hasn't been something I've really every considered simply because I am not a college athlete; I'm a dance major so all of my funding comes from tuition.  While reading these two articles, I could easily take either side.  On one hand, Division 1 sport is bringing in a very large amount of money to specific institutions.  They are also paying their coaches a large amount.  Through this lens, why shouldn't they athlete get paid to play? After all, they are providing entertainment and working very high to do so, just like a professional athlete.  On the other hand, however, the athlete is also going to college, a place where they should be focusing on their long-term future even after their Football or Basketball career, not spending most of their time caught up in the sport scene, forcing their academics to suffer. 

Sports, Politics and the Olympics

The 1936 Olympic games were held in Berlin Germany during the days of Adolph Hitler.  Hitlers Aryan obsession fueled propaganda and anti-Semitism (as well anti-Roma Gypsies) in the sporting events.  Many Jewish, part-Jewish or Roman Gypsies were banned from competing in the games for Germany.  Hitler stressed the physique of the Aryan which acted as a prerequisite for the military.  In protest of Germany's violent racism, there were multiple attempted boycotts that failed.  Hitler, on the other hand, had basically all evidence of violent racism hidden from view for the few weeks the olympics lasted.  He put on a peaceable front that many believed would last a long time, but had a pro-Aryan undertone the entire span of the games.  

During the opening ceremony, the tradition of the relay torch bearing run was founded.  According to ushmm.org, "It perfectly suited Nazi propagandists, who used torch-lit parades and rallies to attract Germans, especially youth, to the Nazi movement.  The torch itself was made in 1936 by Krupp, a German company better known for its production of steel and armaments".  Hitler believed that the games would filter out the "weak, Jewish, and other undesirables" (Wikipeida).  Ironically, the African American sprinter, Jesse Owens turned out to be the most popular hero of the 1936 Olympics. Propaganda was one of the political uses of sport in Germany.  Hitler used the games to assert more control over the German people and introduce Nazi culture to the entire world.  

According to my research and class discussion, I do not agree with the statement, "Sport is pure and devoid of political interference".  This statement is clearly incorrect in regards to the 1936 games in Germany where Hitler blatantly used propaganda to promote his dictatorship and ideals.  Even in sport today in America, politics are clearly involved and arguable completely run sports in society.