Brandon Urry
KIN 577
LT 24
LT 24
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Female Athletes Nude in the Media
The passage of Title IX has led to the incredible rise of female participation in sports over the last 40 years. This is important for many reasons. One of which is the ability sports has to empower and instill confidence in the male and female athletes who participate in them.
Females who don’t participate in sports have less of a chance of receiving this empowerment and confidence. This is interesting when looking at research from the unplanned pregnancy rate between the two groups. The research clearly shows that females who participate in sports have a much lower rate of unplanned pregnancy than those who do not. Why is this important?
Females who don’t participate in sports search to empower themselves and gain confidence in other ways. Sadly, many find their validity through the use of their sex appeal and is the reason many end up pregnant. This is why we see the difference between the two groups unplanned pregnancy rates.
In the recent past, and currently, we see many of the top female athletes in the world posing nude in different types of media. What message is being sent to young female athletes through this media portrayal of high achieving female athletes. It’s that even after Title IX’s passing, over 40 years ago, with all the empowerment and confidence it has brought to females, their power still lies in their sex appeal.
Have we really come that far with Title IX if this practice continues?
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I feel a very important distinction to make in regards to athletes posing nude in the media is the context in which they are doing so. I think it would be very inappropriate for a leading female athlete to pose in publications such as Playboy because of the nature of the magazine does not set a good example for the impressionable young females that may view these individuals as role models.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I see no problem with these athletes posing for sport related publications such as ESPN The Magazines's "The Body Issue". The debate in class raised the point that some of the poses in these magazines do not reflect competence in sport, but in my opinion, there is a good majority that does, and these are the poses that should continue to be published. These athletes put in countless hours to hone their bodies and I think this sets a positive example for up and coming young female athletes that may be experiencing issues with their developing bodies that they don't feel that they look like the models they typically see.
On a different note, I believe the difference in the unplanned pregnancy rate is very interesting and I believe that is just another example of the positive impact sports can have in the lives on young women.
Ashton Stine
LT 24
KIN 577