Sex sells is such a broad term in stating that sex appeal
sells more than the actual sport its self. This is true for women sports in general.
Using the advertisements in class as an example, when I saw that advertisement just
of the tennis player in her bra, I did not think of it any different from Victoria
Secret ads or perfume ads some women athletes do. Now the male ad I reacted
with laughter, and thought of it as a joke and a bad representation of male
athletes. What is a bad representation? A male athlete in his underwear doing
an advertisement? Our society today is all about the norms, and the norms are
that women sell sex appeal not men, but is that true for all things? Power
lifting, some consider it a sport, others consider it an athletic activity,
both men and women do this sport/activity. Men are fit and there are a lot of
women that go to power lifting meets just to see them, most do not care what
they lift or if they lift. So is that not the same as men going to a women's
sport just because of sex appeal. Even some women like male sports just because
they think players on that team are hot, is that not the same thing? People
look at men going to women's games because of sex appeal, but what about women
that go to men sports? Do people ever wonder why they like that team? It is
like asking a random male why he likes women's tennis. Women show off their sex
appeal in ads, but men show there's off through action in sports. With a woman
that does power lifting depending on her physique, she is looked at the same
way that a man is looked at in that ad in class. The reason is because people
find it odd and out of place for a woman to be that fit and strong, as people
feel it is out of place for a man to be in there underwear in a advertisement.
I agree with Tyler when saying that women’s sports are dominantly fueled through sex appeal of the players. I disagree with the idea that men’s sports attract women in the same way. Women may focus on the sex appeal of athletes in men’s sports but a man’s physic is much less important in the advertising of the men’s sports than a women’s physic in the advertising of women’s sports. I say this because when Payton Manning wins the super bowl he is shown in magazines wearing professional attire or casual clothing that does not expose him in anyway. They paint him as a winner, a leader, a role model. Women on the other hand are painted in an objective manner a dominant amount of the time for their success in a sport. If not for the initial win or performance, a photo shoot for something sexy will defiantly come to the table eventually. This is not moral or right, but the tendency to project women in an objective manner is apparent in many fascist of life even outside of sports.
ReplyDeleteJay Clark
I can agree with Tyler, especially when he mentions that our society today is all about the norms, and the norms are that women sell sex appeal. Women do sell sex appeal. There were times when I was in a line at the grocery store and seen tons of magazines. The ones that I always tend to pick up have women with sex appeal on the cover. Do I purchase it, sometimes but not all the time. That’s why I agree with Tyler, because that sometimes is a whole lot more than none of the time. So in my belief women do sell sex appeal. I also agree with the Tyler when he mentions the ads we saw in class. The ad that showed the woman in her sports bra was appealing but not so much of the man. This goes back to the norms mentioned earlier, women sell sex appeal!
ReplyDeleteAnthony Cornwell, Jr.
Our society has these "typical gender roles" because it's what the media sells us. These norms impact our thinking about athletes, both male and female, on a daily basis. We get these ideas in our heads about what men should look like and do and what women should look like and do and when we see ads like the one in class where those ideas are challenged, we react. I think the key component in the idea that women are sex symbols and only sell products through sex is the media. They know men think about sex so that's what they exploit to make money. The only way to see a change is to see a mass boycott of these products that are advertised with sex (not happening any time soon) or to have these athletes stand up and refuse to be used in the ads (also highly unlikely) so I don't think there is an end in sight to these norms that have been constructed.
ReplyDeleteBen Mathey
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteFrom a woman's perspective, I can see where you're coming from when you say that men's sports attract women. With how many times I hear my friends say about how they like baseball because of the baseball pants or they like football because of watching the strong guys, it does have truth to it. But when it comes to advertising, I think that it is a little different. Ads that depict women in little clothing or in a sexual way appeal to both men and women. Men want to be with that girl and women want to be more like that girl, and they think the product will help them achieve that. Men can sometimes think that too when they look at a men’s ad. However, I think they react more strongly to men’s ads that are not shown in a sexual way because it is more relatable for them.
Nicole Zawislan
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you, and from Tuesday, likely the rest of the class, that the advertisement shown was the same as a Victoria's Secret ad. While the woman shown was attractive, the structure of the bra was plain white, no frills, and covered quite a bit more than practically every Victoria's Secret bra I've ever seen. The fact that an athlete was modeling a sports bra made sense to me as a female consumer, and the humor of the copy on the billboard made me feel like I could relate to the advertisement and did not see it as sexual in any way. Perhaps this was designed this way, to come across as sexual to males and friendly to females.
As for people going to sporting events only to admire the opposite sex, I do not think this is true either way. I think the majority of people who are willing to pay to attend an event are going to see the competition or be a part of the atmosphere, which, with the exception of lingerie football, is not typically focused on selling sex appeal. Both sexes likely feel most comfortable commenting on the looks of athletes to fit into acceptable portrayals of their gender, but getting people to feel comfortable commenting on athletic ability of the opposite sex is a part of what is needed to change the objectification of women in women's sports.
Whitney