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Cultural Images
Masculinity and Femininity in Sports
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http://backseatcuddler.com/2008/02/06/eva-longoria-bebe-sports-ads/
These three images from Bebe Sports are supposedly ads for athletic wear—
yet what is really being sold here? This woman doesn’t even look like she
needs to exercise; she already has the “perfect body.” Clearly, the idea being
sold is that wearing this product will instantly make your body as “perfect” as
hers, while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of looking “hot” at all
times, even when working out.
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http://img.skysports.com/08/07/800x600/eScala_1012912.jpg
Again, we have an ad for a sports company (this time a sports news channel) that
features several stereotypically beautiful women and debatably no context as to
what the actual advertisement represents.
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This image presents us with a
different kind of cultural image.
One may assume from the fact
that this is a sports bra
advertisement that the model
in this photo received her
bloody nose in the context of
boxing or some other sport,
but there is nothing else to
imply this—simply a girl with a
broken nose, somehow
supposed to be advertising a
sports bra.
http://viz.cwrl.utexas.edu/files/ddbBra1.jpg
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http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/images/2008/0 http://heatherw.com/mk/pics/mag/skat0605_backad.jpg
9/11/1982_cathy_rigby_ad.jpg
http://www.adrants.com/images/TSA%20ESPNMag%201022_Running_2.jpg
I would also like to focus on the types of sports women are actually shown as
participating in. While we have previously seen “fitness” garb, we see above
gymnastics, ice skating and running. A survey of four Entertainment Weekly
revealed four images of women in movies and on television shows—a ballerina
(Black Swan), cheerleaders (Glee), one boxing (Million Dollar Baby) and a
cartoon of a female participant in The Hunger Games. The same magazine held
four images of men as well—hockey (NHL), football (Madden NFL 11), boxing
(Lights Out) and biking—all more “active,” aggressive sports.
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http://leighhouse.typepad.com/advergirl/images/bob_4.jpg
http://leighhouse.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/paula.jpg
This ad campaign boggles my mind. First, of course, we see the problematic
nature of the suggestion that the “girl” in question must “overcome” this fact
in becoming a golfer, a serious athlete, in much the same way that the male
“survivor” in question must overcome his physical imperfection. It also
leads us into the question of how masculinity plays out in sports.
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http://theshoegame.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jordan-g-gatorade-slam-dunk-ad-new.jpg
In the male world, it is desirable to be an athlete because they have been
elevated to a new level of “cool” or “badass.” Advertisements like the
above Gatorade one portray immensely famous players like Michael Jordan
in particularly awe-inspiring poses, while nothing close to this was found in
women’s sports advertising
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http://www.sardineacademy.com/images/propaganda
/cnnsi-ads-1.jpg
http://www.dzinelabz.com/wp-content/uploads/HLIC/a18f63de2e5b0b224d381b259e7d7508.jpg
The above ads exemplify the pressure put on boys and men not only to
participate in and enjoy sports, but also to be good at them.
Advertisements like the Sports Illustrated one on the left indicate that men
should be all masculinity and training, all the time, while the Nike ad on the
right says it even more clearly—athletic men are strong, invincible.
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http://www.slate.com/id/2187832/
To conclude: the above image (and the mirroring image on the left)
perfectly exemplify all that I have discussed. Gisele is portrayed as
beautiful, flighty and smiling, while LeBron is ripped, hunched over and
appears to be screaming. He embodies aggression as he grabs her waist
and seems to roar, while she seems to do nothing more than enjoy it. Men
are beasts, women merely objects to be sought after.