Interrogating inequalities in Sports Media: Examining gender representation in Sports Illustrated

In 2013, there were 102 issues of Sports Illustrated published.  Of those 102 issues, 98 of them had one or more men on the cover.  Of the other 4 issues, 2 had covers with no people on it, 1 had a combination of both males and females and only one had a female on the cover. This goes to show that male sports dominate main stream media and society and that male sports are what most people are interested in. Sports Illustrated may also think that mostly men will be reading their magazine and in order for them to make it appealing and be able to sell copies they need to have male athletes on the cover.  This could also be due to the fact that many think males are superior athletes compared to women and deserve more recognition. For example, after Lebron James won his second NBA championship, he was on the cover of SI holding the trophy and had an multiple page story about it inside the magazine as well. Maya Moore however, just led her team to their second straight WNBA title, but she did not get placed on the cover. What is sad is that the one female who did make the covers in 2013 is not even an athlete, she is a model. This backs the belief that women shouldn't play sports because they are too "fragile" and they should just "show off their beauty" and that they are not made for sports. I think the unequal representation of females compared to males on Sports Illustrated covers supports academic research that says females are underrepresented in the media and they do not receive as much publicity as male athletes. I think one of the consequences of this is that it is just pushing female athletics deeper and deeper and it may, if it is not already become less important and less valued in American society.

High School Sport

High school sports emerged during a time of very sexist and racist thought.  Which is why today we still see unfair treatment of women's sports.   Today, high school sports are meant to teach discipline, hard work and dedication, the importance of teamwork, and to help build relationships. These qualities will not only help them succeed as athletes but also in everyday life.  While some of these standards are being met, the main thing high school sports teaches athletes is to win.  Coaches, teachers, administrators, and the community look better if their teams are winning.  Which is why many are upset with the direction high school sports are headed. The current status of interscholastic sport is being debated on whether or not they are needed or necessary.  High school sports can cause a lot of problems within school's communities and among students.  One main problem is the glorification of athletes and certain privileges they are given because they are athletes. Making them more popular than others. Another problem is that while the most popular sports are offered like football and basketball, there aren't sports offered to kids who maybe don't like football or basketball or aren't physically built to play those sports.  So some see high school sports as unfair and promoting only certain sports due to social values. Lastly, people also think that sports are becoming more important than school and taking away from education itself.  A solution to this could be to enforce a certain grade point average for athletes to meet in order to be eligible to play.