I recently read an online article in reference to our recent discussion topics regarding women in sport media. The article that I found had an interesting title, “SportsCenter First Is A Milestone For Attractive, Well-Dressed Female Journalists”, so I decided to read further. The topic of the article is great! It talks about how in 2008, for the first time in SportsCenter history, two women anchors turned the show over to another two women anchors. This article featured a clip of the historic moment, and the article should have been celebrating the accomplishment. Instead it sexualized the women to a point where it was relative to a trashy romance novel with Fabio on the cover. The author used terms such as “saucy” and talked about how one of the women’s outfits “accentuated her supple breasts”. The article was more about what the anchors were wearing than their ability to deliver the news. What was most appalling about this entire article (as if it could get any worse), came at the end. The author’s closing comment was, “Sage Steele, whom I'd nail so hard, whoever could pull me out would be named King of England.” My jaw literally dropped when I read this conclusion.

I understand this may be the way some men view women, but I think this author took it way too far by putting it in print. He took their historic moment and made it about their feminine appearance instead of their major accomplishment. People will think what they want to think, and it’s hard to change peoples’ perspectives on certain issues. However, I think offensive pieces of literature, such as this article, are a big part of what keeps sexism alive in the world of sport broadcast today. I believe in freedom of speech and people should be able to express their opinions, but this article seems to cause a lot more damage to the women’s rights movement than progress.

http://deadspin.com/5650258/sportscenter-first-is-a-milestone-for-attractive-well+dressed-female-journalists

Bethany Nollette

KIN 577