WHO HAS NEXT? By: Nicole Johnson
*female athletes experience an uneven playing field
WHO HAS NEXT? By: Nicole Johnson
*female athletes experience an uneven playing field
WHO HAS NEXT? Female Athletes Experience an Uneven Playing Field
Book designed and compiled by Nicole Johnson Student ID 02533561 nikkijohnson1122@gmail.com Copyright Š 2012 The original source for this book was created in InDesign and output as a PDF. The info graphics in the book were created using Illustrator and the text was formatted in InDesign. Photographs were enhanced using Photoshop. The typefaces used in this book are Avenir and American Typewriter. This book was printed on 100# Premium Matte. It was printed and bound by Blurb. GR 600 - Visual Communications Instructors Jeremy Stout and Phil Hamlett Fall 2012 at the Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA All Rights Reserved
THANK YOU... To my parents for sheltering and feeding me while I work part time and attempt to finish my masters To Cory for being calm and my voice of reason, while I had mini panic attacks attempting to finish this class To my teachers for helping me see the light after a rough start to this semester
* table of contents
CHAPTER ONE: Historically Male
9
Uneven Playing Field Title IX The Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s)
CHAPTER TWO: Professional Sports vs. Women
21
33
Pro Teams Or Not? Less Pay, Less Opportunities......
CHAPTER THREE: Media vs. Women
Media Judges Women Social Media is Unfair
CHAPTER FOUR: Men > Women?
41
True or False Why The Doubt?
CHAPTER FIVE: Moving Forward What’s Next? Mandate Awareness Further Learning New Leagues New Resources
49
* historically male
UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD
It’s not really about people not LIKING women’s sports, as it’s more about people just not being USED to women’s sports. Some of you may wonder why you should care about gender inequality in sports. What makes it so important? To break it down simply, it is an important issue in today’s society. It affects a lot of women, and you probably know at least one woman that may be affected by gender equality in some way. Sometimes (most of the time) they don’t even realize it. It’s widespread all over the country. I grew up playing soccer and basketball and went on to be a starter in both sports at my high school. But I, along with all my fellow teammates never received any college scholarship offers even though we went to playoffs and were top seeded every year. Not only were we limited in recruiters seeing us due to the fact that we lived in Hawaii, but we were overlooked because a lot of women’s soccer teams just didn’t have the budget and had to be very particular in who they chose. We were even told by some recruiters,”if I had more scholarships to give out, I would definitely be giving one to you.” It just felt like the odds were stacked against us.
Simply put, women should have the same opportunities that men have. Why do men have professional careers, making millions, while women aren’t even given the chance and when they are (i.e. WNBA) they make a lot less for their salaries? What could be done to bridge this gap and why isn’t it being done currently? I hope by the end of this book you have a better sense of gender inequality in sports and what could be done to make it better. Who knows, you may have a daughter one day who strives to play soccer professionally. Why can’t she have that chance?
In this book I will be sharing with you my explorations of gender inequality in sports, just a small tidbit of inequality as a whole, but definitely still an important issue in today’s society. Why are female athletes still treated differently compared to their male counterparts? Less opportunities, less pay when given the opportunities, less endorsements, treated differently by the media and the list goes on.
WHO HAS NEXT?
9
TITLE IX
Title IX is a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972 U.S. legislation. It states (in part) that: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance... Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was written in order to end discrimination based on religion, race, color, or national origin, the act also energized the women’s rights movement, which had somewhat slowed after women’s suffrage in 1920. While Title IX is best known for its impact on high school and collegiate athletics, the original statute made no explicit mention of sports. [1]
One such attempt was made in 1974 by Senator John Tower who introduced the Tower Amendment, which would have exempted revenue-producing sports from Title IX compliance. [3] Later that year the Tower Amendment was rejected and the Javits Amendment, proposed by Senator Jacob Javits, stating that the HEW must include “reasonable provisions considering the nature of particular sports” was adopted in its place. [4] Overall, men’s athletic opportunities since Title IX’s passage have increased. Title IX has been wrongly blamed by its critics for cuts to some men’s sports teams at some educational institutions.
Concern over how Title IX would affect men’s athletics prompted some to look for ways to limit the influence of Title IX, and Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana spent the next three years keeping watch over the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to get regulations formulated that carried out its legislative intent of eliminating discrimination in higher education on the basis of sex. When they were issued in summer 1975 they were contested, and hearings were held by the House Subcommittee on Equal Opportunities on the discrepancies between the regulations and the law. Implementation by colleges and universities also had to be monitored, although many were working to comply. [2]
10
CHAPTER ONE
* did Title IX damage mens sports?
* scholarship athlete
1
CHAPTER ONE
Opponents of Title IX have tried to mislead the public into believing that the loss of men’s wrestling and a few other sports at some schools is a sign of massive loss of men’s participation opportunities overall when exactly the opposite is true – men’s sports participation continues to grow. Athletic programs add and drop teams all the time. Men are not losing.
This misinformation campaign takes the focus away from the facts that: continue to be significantly 3 1 Women underrepresented among high school and college athletes.
2
The gap between men’s and women’s sports participation and support is not closing.
It is the wealthiest athletic programs in NCAA Division I-A that are dropping men’s minor sports, typically because they are shifting these monies to compete in football and men’s basketball. [5]
WHO HAS NEXT?
13
“The model for women’s collegiate sports is not the same as for men. In multiple sports, male athletes believe their careers will continue after they graduate or leave college.” —Bob Keisser
GIRLS IN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
1971
294,000
2012
3.2 million
WOMEN IN COLLEGE SPORTS
1971
30,000
2012
200,000
BOYS IN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
1971
3.6 million
2012
4 million
MEN IN COLLEGE SPORTS
1971
170,000
2012
200,000+
* before Title IX
LACK OF: FACILITIES EQUIPMENT UNIFORMS
SPORT AND MDG’S (MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS) GOAL 1
GOAL 2
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Providing development opportunities will help fight poverty. The sport industry, as well as the organization of large sporting events, creates opportunities for employment. Sport provides life skills essential for a productive life in society. The opportunity to acquire such skills is often more limited for women, making their access to sport of critical importance.
Achieve universal primary education. Sport and physical education are an essential element of quality education. They promote positive values and skills that have an immediate and lasting impact on young people. Sport activities and physical education generally make school more attractive and improve attendance.
GOAL 3
GOAL 4 & 5
GOAL 6
GOAL 7
Promote gender equality and empower women. Increasing access for women and girls to physical education and sport helps build confidence and promotes stronger social integration. Involving girls in sport activities alongside boys can help overcome prejudice that often contributes to social vulnerability of women and girls.
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Sport can help engage otherwise difficultto-reach populations and provide positive role models delivering prevention messages. The most vulnerable populations, including women and girls, are highly responsive to sport-targeted programs. Sport can also effectively assist in overcoming prejudice, stigma and discrimination.
Reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. Sport can be an effective means to provide women with a healthy lifestyle as well as to convey important messages on a wide range of health issues.
Ensure environmental sustainability. Sport is ideal for raising awareness about the need to preserve the environment. The interdependency between the regular practice of outdoor sports and the protection of the environment is clear.
GOAL 8
Develop a global partnership for development. Sport offers diverse opportunities for innovative partnerships for development and can be used as a tool to build and foster partnerships between developed and developing nations to work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. [6]
18
CHAPTER ONE
* The Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) are eight international development goals that sport has the potential to contribute to in unique and creative ways. Women play an integral role in the achievement of every MDG, and every MDG is vital to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
* professional sports vs. women
PRO TEAMS OR NOT? ESPN’s nationally televised program SportsCenter devoted only 1.4% of its airtime to coverage of women’s sports, a decline in their coverage of women’s sports compared with 1999 (2.2%) and 2004 (2.1%). [7} In the 39 years since Title IX opened playing fields across the country to girls, the number of women playing sports has skyrocketed. Women’s professional leagues have come -- some have stayed and others have gone -- and the skill level of female athletes has improved tremendously. Many people, coaches and athletes, say a woman could be accepted as a professional if she helped her team win. Examples, such as Danica Patrick in auto racing and Kelly Kulick on the Professional Bowlers Association tour have shown that women can compete and win on an individual basis.
Griner, have brought attention to their sports by competing with men, or mastering a skill once thought to belong strictly to the male domain, such as dunking. [8] Professional sports for women do exist, but not in all sports. So there are still a lot of women who cannot rely on their sport to become a career for them, while their male counterparts can.
Others, such as former LPGA champion Annika Sorenstam and Baylor basketball player Brittney
What you can do * Attend women’s sporting events * Support companies that advocate for women’s athletics * Encourage television stations and newspapers to cover women’s sports
* Encourage young women to participate in sports and cheer them on * Become an advocate: if you are or know a female athlete that is being discriminated against – advocate for her rights. [9]
* Sign up to coach a girls’ sports team, whether at the recreational or high school level
WHO HAS NEXT?
21
* lack of viewership
“ I think there is a lack of women professional sports because the idea of girls being in sports has been so negatively looked at that there are not enough women to fill enough teams to make a league in some sports. So, I don’t think I will be watching any women’s sports anytime soon, unfortunately.” —Daniel Tuttel
TELEVISED WNBA GAMES NBC
ABC
0
20
10
0
0
0
2001
2003
2005
2007
# of games televised
# of games televised
20
0
0
7
7
0
2001
2003
2005
2007
ESPN
ESPN2
0
20
11
0
2
0
2001
2003
2005
2007
# of games televised
# of games televised
20
0
10
10
13
16
2001
2003
2005
2007
“ I really don’t believe women will watch women play sports. And men who watch only like watching the volleyball players in their short shorts.”
—Kathy Lewis
* female athletes experience an uneven playing field
LESS PAY, LESS OPPORTUNITIES
College and professional sports continue to provide unequal funding for women. Paying men more for the same sport gives women in the sport less incentive to push themselves and discourages future female participation in the sport. Even though female students comprise 57% of college student populations, female athletes received only 43% of participation opportunities which is 56,110 fewer participation opportunities than their male counterparts. 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 teams receive only 38% of college sport operating dollars and 33% of college athletic team recruitment spending. In NCAA Division I-A, head coaches for women’s teams receive an average salary of $850,400 while head coaches for men’s teams average $1,783,100. This is a difference of $932,700.
In 2007 Wimbledon announced for the first time, it will provide equal prize purses to male and female athletes. All four Grand Slam events now offer equal prize money to the champions. Total prize money for the PGA tour, $256 million, is more than five times that of the LPGA tour, $50 million. Similar discrepancies exist throughout professional sports. For a WNBA player in the 2005 season, the minimum salary was $31,200, the maximum salary was $89,000, and the team salary cap was $673,000. For NBA players in the 2004-2005 season, the minimum salary was $385,277, the maximum salary was $15.355 million, and the team salary cap was $46 million. For finishing in third place in the 2003 Women’s World Cup, each U.S. women’s national soccer team member was awarded $25,000. They would have received $58,000 if they had won the Cup. For reaching the quarterfinal of the World Cup in 2002, the U.S. men’s national soccer team members received $200,000 each. [10]
When Jelena Prokopcuka won the New York City Marathon in both 2005 and 2006 she became the sixth woman in the history of the race to achieve this feat. Both years the women’s winner took home $100,000 plus a bonus of $30,000, equaling the largest purse in marathon history.
WHO HAS NEXT?
29
Alana Beard
$70,000 Nnemkadi Ogwumike
$48,000
Candace Parker
$103,500
Steve Nash
$8.9 mil
DeLisha Milton-Jones
$70,000
Kristi Toliver
$60,676
* salary comparison (2011-2012 Season)
Metta World Peace
$6.79 mil
LA Sparks Starters (WNBA)
Pau Gasol
$15.80 mil
LA Lakers Starters (NBA)
Dwight Howard
$19.54 mil Kobe Bryant
$27.85 mil
* media vs. women
MEDIA JUDGES WOMEN
The media shapes the public’s perceptions of the accomplishments of women playing sports and whether women in general can be strong, confident and highly skilled. The media also shapes the dreams and aspirations of girls. Boys grow up watching television, bombarded by heroic and confident images of themselves playing sports and being revered for their accomplishments. They know they are expected to play sports and are encouraged to do so by everyone around them. Girls do not receive these messages. When CBS and ESPN covered the 1989 college basketball championships, commentators and graphics referred to the men’s events as “The Final Four” and “The NCAA National Championship Game,” while viewers were constantly reminded that they were watching the “Women’s Final Four” and the “NCAA Women’s National Championship.”
Names Used in Tennis Commentary (1989 U.S. Open finals) First Name Only: Men, 44 (8%); Women, 304 (53%) Last Name Only: Men, 395 (70%); Women, 166 (29%) First and Last Name: Men, 127 (22%); Women, 107 (19%) [11]
This presentation of women’s games as derivative of a male standard signaled a consistent presentation of female athletics as inferior, according to a study of sports journalism sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles that examined these basketball and tennis events. The way commentators referred to men and women athletes contrasted dramatically. In the tennis and basketball games studied, women were referred to as “girls,” as well as “young ladies” or “women.” Men, however, were never referred to as “boys,” but as “men,” “young men” or “young fellas.” When commentators identified an athlete by first name alone, the athlete was far more likely to be female than male, (e.g. “Martina” [Navratilova], “Zena” [Garrison], “Steffi” [Graf]).
WHO HAS NEXT?
33
“Commentators often used words like big, strong, brilliant, gutsy and aggressive to describe men, while tending to save weary, fatigued, frustrated, panicked, vulnerable and choking for women.” —Margaret Carlisle Duncan
34
CHAPTER THREE
GIRL WEARY DIVA SMALL WEAK TIRED
* I love how she’s doing her thing and winning, but I hate the way her hair looks.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS UNFAIR
After Gabby Douglas won two gold medals for Team USA in gymnastics, Twitter was abuzz with the fact that her hair looked “unkempt” and “ratch.” Similarly, after appearing in a documentary about women’s weight lifting, British weight lifter Zoe Smith was attacked for looking like a “bloke” and a “lesbian”. Before the Olympic games even began, an Australian newspaper ran a photo of swimmer Leisel Jones suggesting she didn’t look as fit as she had in the 2008 games as well as running a poll asking readers if they thought she was fit enough to compete in the 2012 London Olympics. All three ladies above have not only qualified for the Olympics, but they’ve also medaled or broken world records. What does this criticism have to do with their abilities or performances? It only centers on their looks, which just serves as a depressing indication that no matter what you do or accomplish, nothing is as important as ensuring you fit into society’s narrow-minded ideas of what makes a woman “pretty.”
Rebecca Adlington The British swimmer, who won two bronze medals at London, told the press that she had to stay off social media before she swam because there were so many negative comments about her looks. Hollie Avil British triathlete, Avil, who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, quit sports for good to concentrate on her health after struggling with an eating disorder she says stems from years of a coach calling her fat. Jessica Ennis A high-ranking British official recently commented that Ennis, who won the heptathlon at the 2012 Olympics, looked like she was carrying too much weight for her body. Brazilian women’s soccer team The coach of Cameroon’s women’s soccer team said that the Brazilians looked “a bit heavy,” before the South American team trounced Cameroon 5-0. [12]
Here’s a list of notable female athletes who have faced criticism about their looks or weight recently.
WHO HAS NEXT?
37
* popular?
* novelty?
* men > women?
TRUE OR FALSE
“I think men are just better than women at sports. It’s just the caliber and muscle tone that men have opposed to women that give them the edge, not that women can’t do it, but men can do it better.” — Landon Castro Are men really better than women at sports? This is an argument that has been going on for years and who knows if it will ever be settled. Overall why does it matter? If women want to play sports just like the men they should be given the opportunity. Gender bias occurs not only because there is no football team for women to play on, but rather that is only the outcome of the larger problem. The real gender bias has to do with the male, and sometimes female, attitudes of what defines masculinity and what defines femininity. Due to the pervading male influence, gender typing occurs early during a girl’s development. Gender typing is attributing qualities, characteristics, attributes, temperaments, demeanor and behavior due to a gender. That is, making generalizations about a person, and how they act or should act, based upon preconceived notions and definitions of their gender.
them the opportunity to do so in the first place. More plausibly, is that a self fulfilling prophecy has occurred. Expectations have shaped a behavior, which in turn shapes future expectations. This cycle usually conforms to the dominant cultural theme, and in our example, the dominant theme is male supremacy. [13]
Through the power of suggestion, gender socialization begins at a very early age. Subtly, or not so subtly, a girl hears messages throughout her life that females aren’t good at math and science, and proficiency in math and science are needed to become, for example, a space traveler, so the logical conclusion for her is that she can not go into space. The argument that, “if girls had the ability to become astronauts we would see more of them”, is self defeating when we have not given
WHO HAS NEXT?
41
* who said women are weak?
WHY THE DOUBT?
Whenever female athletes achieve a measure of achievement, so long as there has existed a male alternative in a sport, those male athletes have been accorded greater fame and financial reward than their female counterparts. Notwithstanding the physiological differences between men and women that fundamentally affect performance, the male athlete is perceived as the better athlete. A portion of the global sporting public is unable or unwilling to distinguish between female athletic ability, which encompasses all of the physical factors that combine to create athleticism, as well as more intangible traits such as decision-making, hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision, and agility.
Men Love Football. “When women demonstrate excellence in sports like running, tennis, and golf, men take great pains to describe that excellence as less important, less worthy, less of an achievement than male excellence. “These same people would never think of comparing Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammed Ali. One weighed sixty pounds more than the other. Clearly, they deserve to box in different classes. Yet the top female tennis player is often compared to the top male player.... who usually outweighs her by sixty pounds. [14]
Women on average have greater flexibility, a greater percentage of body fat (useful for ultra-distance races), and smaller size, they tend to be as good as or better than men in some sports: marathon swimming, very long-distance running, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and horse racing, to name a few. And, in recreational sports like tennis, golf, “Ultimate” Frisbee, softball, volleyball, and countless others, women and men regularly play against and with each other at similar skill levels. Nevertheless, many men take great comfort in the fact that most women are not big, strong, or fast enough to play football. Of course, most men are not either. “Because women ‘could never play football,’ [men imply], men are physically, naturally, biologically superior,” says Mariah Burton Nelson, author of The Stronger Women Get, the More
WHO HAS NEXT?
45
U.S. WOMEN
58
TOTAL MEDALS
29
GOLD
14
SILVER
15
BRONZE
U.S. MEN
45
TOTAL MEDALS
17
GOLD
15
SILVER
13
BRONZE
* moving forward
WHAT’S NEXT? Now, you are probably saying, ok, sure, there is gender inequality in sports, but do people even care and how would we get anyone to care? This is where I come in. How could design take this issue and bring it to the public eye and somehow make society more aware of the issues women face in sports? Here are what I believe to be my opportunity gaps and what I propose to do:
1 2 3
Create law similar to Title IX that mandates equality in professional sports. Use an awareness campaign to promote it and try to get it to become reality. Would consist of a website, posters, billboards, etc.
Awareness campaign. Provide more awareness and insight into the lack of opportunities for female athletes. Would consist of a possible non-profit with a website, brochures, posters, mobile app, billboards, etc.
Further learning. Would consist of creating a book that is well designed AND informative about gender inequality in sports. Could possibly be used as a textbook.
WHO HAS NEXT?
4 5
New leagues. Create new women’s professional leagues by partnering with mens professional leagues (i.e. like NBA and WNBA). Start with soccer or softball. Would consist of creating teams, choosing cities, making logos, uniforms, etc. More resources. I feel there is a lack of resources for female athletes. This would consist of female driven athletic stores, website and magazine.
I feel these are good stepping stones to start with in bringing more awareness about gender inequality in sports. I would love for young girls to be able to play a sport and know that they have the same opportunity to play professionally just like their brother can. Having that door open would change a lot of things for a lot of young women.
49
1
2
3
4
5
* bibliography 1. Carpenter, Linda Jean; Acosta, R. Vivian. Title IX. Champaign, IL, 2005. 2. Cruikshank, Kate. The Art of Leadership; A Companion to an Exhibition from the Senatorial Papers of Birch Bayh, p. 43. Indiana University Libraries, 2007. 3. Curtis, Mary; Grant, Christine H.B. Gender Equity in Sport, http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/ historyRE.html, February 23, 2006. 4. Suggs, Welsh. A Place on the Team. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press, 2005. 5. Women’s Sports Foundation. Title IX Myths and Facts, http://www.womenssportsfoundation. org/home/advocate/title-ix-and-issues/what-is-title-ix/title-ix-myths-and-facts. 6. United Nations: Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Women, 2000 and Beyond: Women, Gender Equality and Sport. New York, NY, 2007. 7. Messner, Michael A.; Cooky, Cheryl; Hextrum, Robin. Gender in Televised Sports: News and Highlights Shows. University of Southern California, 2012. 8. McManus, Jane. Can Women Play With The Men?, http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6495612/women-pro-sports-women-play-men, May 9, 2011. 9 & 10. Women’s Sports Foundation. Pay Inequity in Athletics, http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/home/research/articles-and-reports/equity-issues/pay-inequity.
11. Duncan, Margaret Carlisle. Gender Bias in Televised Sports. http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/gender-bias-in-televised-sports/, January 1, 1992.
12. Nunez, Alanna. Why Are People Criticizing These Olympic Athletes For Their Looks?. http:// www.shape.com/blogs/london-2012-summer-olympics/why-are-people-criticizing-these-olympicathletes-their-looks, August 6, 2012. 13. Person, Erik. Gender Bias in American Sports: Lack of Opportunity, Lack of Administrative Positions and Lack of Coverage in Women’s Sports. http://thesportdigest.com/archive/article/ gender-bias-american-sports-lack-opportunity-lack-administrative-positions-and-lack-coverage. 14. Feminist Majority Foundation. Empowering Women in Sports. https://feminist.org/research/ sports/sports9.html. INFO GRAPHIC SOURCES Pg. 15: Feminist Majority Foundation. Gender Equity in Athletics and Sports. http://www.feminist.org/sports/titleIXfactsheet.asp, 2002. Pg. 25: Women’s Sports Foundation. Women’s Sports & Fitness Facts & Statistics. East Meadow, NY, 2009. Pgs. 30-31: Various Wikipedia pages. Pgs. 46-47: Jenkins, Sally. Women’s Olympic Success: A Flood That Began as a Trickle. http:// articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-12/sports/35493982_1_basketball-gold-medal-winnersclaressa-shields, August 12, 2012.