Looking through the lens of Laura Mulvey, a renowned film theorist, the theory of male gaze in her work “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975), explores the idea of how media objectifies women as a tool of male desire. The male gaze in sports connotes how female athletes are seen and perceived by their physical appearance over athletic prowess. Women in sports are not recognized for their athletic performance; however, their femineity or personal life is highlighted instead (Messner, M. A., & Cooky, C. 2010). Emphasizing the contradiction between male and female athletes, as the males are celebrated for their high skill and power whilst the females get inspected for their aesthetics.
Women’s FIFA World Cup, 2023, showcased extraordinary competition and football, which caught the attention of a record-breaking audience.
This revealed many conversations circulated during the tournament that showcased the persistence of male gaze. For example, social media commentaries and posts were engrossed on the appearance of the female players rather than the skills they showcased in the game.
Famous women’s footballer, Alex Morgan, a forward for the U.S. team, faced vast media attention not praising her on-field performance and success, rather accentuating her “marketable beauty.” Illustrating how the most celebrated women’s sport has been infiltrated by the male gaze, and how debates over uniforms and their appearance have overshadowed their athletic brilliance.
Female athletes often feel pressured, mainly due to the male gaze distorting how they are represented which impacts their opportunities and experiences. As the female athletes find it difficult to conform to the societal beauty standards that have been set to be able to secure media visibility and sponsorships. This ends up redirecting the attention from their sporting ability and adding onto the continuous cycle in which women in sports are judged according to their appearance. Resulting in a limitation in their potential to redefine gender norms in sports (Bruce, T., 2016). Moreover, not only is the male gaze creating barriers for the female athletes, but also influencing how the public audience’s perception too. Systemic inequities continue to rise due to the constant objectification taking place, also resulting in the undermining the efforts that are being out into achieving gender equality in sports. Male spectators are often seen to be focused on the appearance of the female athlete’s physicality, causing an effect on how women are being valued and consumed in the sport (Daniels, E. A. 2009).
To combat the male gaze in sports involves the current media practices and mainly societal attitudes to go through intentional shifts. The sports media coverage should disregard the aesthetic appeal, instead they should prioritize the athletic achievements. The Nike campaigns, that focus and celebrate the resilience and strength portrayed by female athletes. Overall providing an alternate narrative that centers more on the talent, determination and skill. By increasing the representation of women in sports media production and journalism can further benefit the cause and shift the narrative. Diversifying the voices behind the commentators of the game would be a crucial need to foster equitable representation (Fink, J.S., 2015).
Sadly, the male gaze is still present and remains a prevalent issue in sports. Through better representation, shift in media narrative and audience awareness, the sports field can look forward towards a future which includes gender equality.
References:
Bruce, T., 2016. New rules for new times: Sportswomen and media representation in the third wave. Sex Roles, 74, pp.361-376.
Daniels, E. A. (2009). Sex Objects, Athletes, and Sexy Athletes: How Media Representations of Women Athletes Can Impact Adolescent Girls and Young Women. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24, 399-422.
Fink, J.S., 2015. Female athletes, women’s sport, and the sport media commercial complex: Have we really “come a long way, baby”?. Sport management review, 18(3), pp.331-342.
Messner, M. A., & Cooky, C. (2010, June). Gender in Televised Sports: News and Highlight Shows, 1989-2009. University of Southern California Center for Feminist Research.
Mulvey, L., 2013. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. In Feminism and film theory (pp. 57-68). Routledge.
