Women in Sports: The Sideline Story: Physical Beauty Over Talent

In sports today, many can agree that there are a variety of talented female athletes. Unfortunately, this talent in which they have worked on for countless years is overlooked by their physical appearance. In sports, it is apparent that females are viewed more so as sex symbols then heroines of the game. Masculinity has dominated sports for decades and females have not been able to escape this, because sports are a male dominated field. The thought of women being portrayed as talented athletes takes a back seat to their male counterparts.

In all aspects of life, women are usually judged based on their looks. This carries into sports as well. There are numerous lists and surveys conducted to determine the sexiest female athletes of the year. Usually, these females are given a full photo shoot where they are portrayed, not in their sports uniforms, but normally in provocative poses wearing skimpy and lucrative attire. It seems that these female athletes accept this portrayal, and they purposely pose in these outfits in order to gain attention from viewers and publicity. However, it undermines them as individuals and thus their talents. There are countless amounts of female athletes and individuals who allow this to happen.

There is also some discrepancy as far as sports go, where we see that the female athletes are consistently given less clothing, thus proving the notion that they are merely sex symbols. As we look into volleyball, this displacement is evident. When we look at men’s beach volleyball, the pieces of clothing that they sport are knee length board shorts and a simple non-revealing tank top. However, women's beach volleyball is vastly different. They are forced to wear extremely small and revealing bathing suits that catch the viewer’s eyes immediately. This is done to improve ratings and males have consensually said that it draws their attention. This illustrates how men are drawn more by vision and women are not. Males watch women’s volleyball primarily because of the scantily-clad women. Females, however, rarely watch men’s volleyball for the physical appearance. Men’s volleyball is regarded for the sport and the talent of the players on the field; women’s volleyball does not receive the same privilege.

Danica Patrick, an American auto racer, is the most decorated female racer in history. She is regarded as the most successful and popular female of American open-wheel racing. She is the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series, as well as holding the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd place*. With all these accomplishments, however, she choose to instead promote her body and advertise in bikinis. When the average citizen watches this what do they see? They see a female athlete who will be mostly remembered for the color of her bikini rather than the talent or skill she worked so hard to obtain. Another example of athletic female sex symbols is Maria Sharapova, a world class tennis player. She too has experienced great prominence in her sport, winning multiple Grand Slam titles. However, Maria Sharapova to the average male is viewed as a sex symbol and is considered a model rather than a professional tennis player. She is constantly and consistently regarded for her looks over her talent.