Females Struggle in the Professional Athletic World

Joey Ponce

4 December 2012

Females Struggle in the Professional Athletic World

            When you think of a professional athlete what is the first name that comes to mind?  The majority of us immediately jump to the idea of a male athlete without any hesitation at all.  Why do almost all of us not even take a second to think of a female athlete?  These women train just as hard and dedicate the same amount of time to their sport as men do but are overlooked by many people.  Professional female athletes suffer more than male athletes do because they do not receive the money they deserve.  According to ‘The Women’s Sports Foundation’, “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”(The Women Sports Foundation).  That is a 200 million dollar difference between men and women professional golfers.  There is an inequality amongst male and female athletes derived from societies perception of both genders with respect to athletics.  Professional female athletes do not get high paying endorsement deals and contracts, some are seen as sex symbols rather than as athletes, and most importantly they do not receive the notoriety and respect when compared to professional male athletes.

            Professional female athletes are severely underpaid when compared to professional male athletes of any major sport.  In 2012 the WNBA minimum contract for an athlete was $35,000 meanwhile the maximum contract was still only $101,000. Yes, that is the maximum amount a female WNBA player can make in one season.  On the other hand the minimum NBA contract is currently $473,000 while the highest paid player in the NBA is making an overwhelming $28,000,000.  The lowest paid player in the NBA makes four times more money than the highest paid professional female basketball player.  Does that seem fair to you?  I understand that male athletes have sold more seats and drawn higher ratings on television in the past but a gap that large in my opinion is absurd.  For example, the highest paid female athlete in 2012 was Maria Sharipova who brought in 25 million dollars, the majority coming from endorsement deals.  In contrast the highest paid male athlete of 2012 was Floyd Mayweather Jr who made 85 million dollars none of which from an endorsement deal.  Countless professional male athletes bring in more money off endorsement deals in one year than a large majority of female athletes will make in an entire career. 

            Unfortunately for women many professional athletes are seen as sex symbols, simply overlooking their marvelous talent.  Therefore we immediately think of male athletes when asked who comes to mind of professional athletes.  Some of these women are on ESPN and they have been on magazine covers and we know who they are but we overlook them as professionals in their craft.  Alex Morgan one of the best players on the US female women’s national soccer team is often recognized for her fashion spreads as opposed to her extraordinary talent.  This has happened to more than a few female athletes.  They gain their notoriety for looks and posing in revealing magazines to bring more attention to themselves and to their sport.  A quote from a book review on The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports states, “There is something about male sports privilege that contributes to the sexual objectification and abuse of women” (Nathan 11). This book is written to raise the awareness of how women are seen as objects when it comes down to sports.  At times they are not even being seen as athletes.  The truth of the matter is that we are all to blame for the way these female athletes are treated and depicted.  We let the media put these images out that depict these professional athletes as sex symbols without recognizing them for their talents and accomplishments.

            Consequently females have been disadvantaged in sports from an early age.  They do not receive the same recognition in competitive sports as boys.  For the most part large majorities of the time people do not take female athletes serious.  Although some of these disadvantages for female athletes have gone away in past years there is still discrimination amongst athletes.  Even at the tender ages of 10 to 12 years old we can see discrimination between these two genders.  At 10 to 12 years old Little League Baseball is nationally televised on ESPN to recognize the talented young boys who have achieved the feat of making it to that stage.  In contrast there is not a Little League Softball World Series for girls in that same age group.  Female athletes go their whole athletic career not receiving the same recognition as male athletes. 

The media is the main reason to blame for the unfair representation of female athletes.  An article on Women’s Olympic Beach Volleyball covered the way the media represented these athletes and did not promote them as athletes but rather as sex symbols.  As a result it marginalizes female athletes ability because it is not what they are being recognized for.  During the 2012 Olympics one of the most popular sports was in fact Beach Volleyball.  Beach Volleyball is composed of women who wear bikinis during their matches.  Would Beach Volleyball be as important if they were not wearing such revealing clothes?  I think a large portion of their fan base is attracted to the fact they are only in bikinis.  Whenever these women are portrayed in the media they make sure they can have the athletes wearing the smallest bikinis possible so they can attract more attention to their sport.  Sure, now people are watching Beach Volleyball but it is for the wrong reason?  The media sometimes loses track and does not depict these women as athletes or in some cases they do not mention these females at all.  ESPN and its show ‘SportsCenter’ the main source for sports media, “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%)” (Sports Page Coverage 2010).  With the main sports news outlet only devoting 1.4% of airtime to female athletes it is impossible for them to gain the same recognition as the men do. 

Women have made significant strides to try and remove the sex symbol label that has been placed upon them but are seen having to promote their bodies so they can receive the recognition and money they deserve.  Female athletes do not make their money off of their actual salary.  It is made from sponsorships and being in TV ad and in magazines.  In the end female athletes have almost no choice but to promote themselves to try and bring fans and supporters to their sport.  Women sports have failed in the past in the United States because they did not have a steady and reliable fan base.  So by posing in these revealing magazines and showing off their body they are becoming known as a sex symbol and people are not respecting their God given talents as a professional athlete.  Even though it will be tough financially women need to begin to steer away from that approach so they are not given the sex symbol label and so they can actually be respected for their talents.

            Hopefully in the future we will begin to see equality amongst male and female athletes.  To start we need to change societies perception of female athletes.  The media needs to promote these women as athletes and not as models.  Sports media stations like ESPN will have to dedicate more than a pitiful 1.4% of airtime to female athletes if there will be any improvement at all.  As fans and supporters of athletes people must begin to appreciate and give credit and respect to these females for all their dedication and hard work.  Female athletes deserve equality amongst male athletes.  Showing support for female athletes is the first step you can do to make a difference in trying to bring equality amongst male and female athletes.  

           

        

Works Cited

French, Sean. "I Love The Olympics, Especially The Beach Volleyball, Played By Women In Tiny Two-Piece Suits." New Statesman 129.4506 (2000): 28. Academic Search Elite. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.

Nathan, Jennifer. "The Stronger Women Get, the More Men Love Football: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports -- Book Review." The OptiMSt Sep 30 1995: 11-. GenderWatch. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.

Pratt, Judith, et al. "Gender Differences in Print Media Coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece." Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal 17.2 (2008): 34-41. GenderWatch. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.

"Sports Page Coverage: Have We Made Some Progress?." NAGWS Gazette, (2010): 2. Web. 25 Oct. 2012

"Women's Sports Foundation." Women's Sports Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.