236 21st Annual Raymond A. Weiss Lecture: Media Representations of Female Athletes—The Good, the Bad and the Sexy

Over the past four decades sport media scholars have demonstrated that images from print and broadcast journalism consistently focus on the athletic exploits of male athletes while offering sexualized images of their female counterparts. Scholars argue that a major consequence of the media’s sexualized portrayals of athletic females is to reinforce their status as second-class citizens in one of the most influential economic, social and political institutions in this country. This presentation examines how “selling sex” by creating “sexy babe” images suppresses interest in—not to mention respect for—women’s sports.