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Kristina Kosloski
ENGL 110
Prof. Bruner
November 24, 2014
Investigative Paper

A Females Voice in a Mans World

Women in America have been making great strides in the world of sports,
physically and verbally since the late 20th century and into the 21st century. During the
1900s when sports became extremely popular they were mainly subjected towards the
male gender. Then when the radio and television were invented, sports broadcasting
became a favorable career, but again aimed towards the male gender. Since sports had
first began only being considered a males role in society, women not allowed to
participate. As the time progressed by the mid 1900s, women started to make their mark
in the world of sports, but they still were not accepted when it came to sport broadcasting
or commentating. This brings into question why womens voices in sports are not as
equally appreciated as men. If a woman has the same amount of knowledge pertaining to
a sport or sports topic, why should her opinion or voice be degraded or ignored? This
also bring to mind the role of women in society, and if certain careers may seem to
emasculate men in those careers, such as sport broadcasting? The key social issue
brought to life here is how women are treated differently in sports, especially when it
comes to them commenting or giving their opinion on the matter. Majority of the time,
womens opinions and thoughts on mens sports are ignored or given no real attention.

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The film, Trouble with the Curve, depicts a clear image of how women and men
play very separate roles when it comes to athletics. The film revolves around the sport of
baseball and the recruiting process of it. One of the main characters who is a female,
Mickey, has a father named Gus who recruits young players to sign into the Major
Leagues, and throughout the film she sets the stage for representing a womens voice in
what is known as a mans sport. She follows her father, who has recently been
diagnosed with major eyesight problems, which is key for baseball recruitment. On her
own she discovers a boy who has an incredibly rare talent when is comes to pitching, but
is not able to afford to play the actual sport. In one scene of the film, she is at a bar
spitting off baseball trivia and statistics as if she was a baseball fanatic. Being a
confident outspoken lawyer, she definitely doesnt hesitate to bring to the attention of the
Atlanta Braves Baseball general managers the name and face of this talented boy, while
speaking her mind about a recruited arrogant player who had been signed recently. In
another scene where one of the general managers was speaking against Mickey, her
father, Gus the Braves recruiter strongly interrupts, you dont know anything about
the game. She knows more about this sport than any of us in this room you dont even
take the time to get out of your fancy little office to actually go see a game in person
(Gus, Trouble with the Curve). Her role in this film meant so much more because she
represented a strong female voice in a mans sport. When arguing with her father, Gus,
about her childhood, Mickey said, Those werent cheap seats. Spending every waking
moment with my dad watching baseball, those were the best seats in the house (Mickey,
Trouble with the Curve). She argued that just because she was a girl, doesnt mean she
did not enjoy watching and being a part of a mens world or sport. It was all the same no

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matter what the gender. This leads into the main topic of women speaking their mind
when it comes to mens athletics.
It has been recorded in a case study conducted by Courtney Christine of Lehigh
University that, it would be impossible to generalize about women in sports
broadcasting provided insight into how these women have succeeded, and can help
future research formulate the kinds of questions that will further our understanding of the
evolving role of women in sports broadcasting (Molinaro). It was seen that few women
slowly make their way into the career of sport broadcasting that it is much more difficult
for women to get the recommendations and opportunities that most men get easily.
In an article written by Kami Harris, who is a sports analyst from the University
of Southern California, pertaining to gender roles and segregating in sport media and
management she stated, Sports and sports media are industries that enable the practice of
gender segregation. These conglomerates are worth investigating because so much
emphasis is placed on domination and power in sports (Harris). It is stated that because
of the masculine persona portrayed it was not seen as normal for women to be involved in
sports media career roles, backed up by the statement that, The association of strength, a
masculine triggered trait, is an important aspect of sports (Harris). Viewers expect there
to be a male figure when commentating about sports because it is more commonly seen
to be a more masculine position, that the average person would think a women would be
less educated or knowledgeable about.
Not only are the gender roles changing within sports media and broadcasting, but
also within jobs involved in sports. Ground was broken in 2005 when Violet Palmer
became the first female referee in the NBA. In an interview by Fox 43s C.J. Jackson

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questioned Palmer if she was at all intimidated when she began working in a male
dominated industry (Jackson), Palmer responded, I was a little nervous talking to
professional athletes about "their" sport, a sport that I never played in an organized
manner. But it didn't take long to realize they treated me just like one of my male coworkers (Palmer quoted by Jackson). Since these times are now changing, does the
increase in female figures in a mans career or job making men feel intimidated or
emasculated? Palmer responded this similar question from C.J. Jackson, I think that
males in the business are more intimidated by us females because we are the hot
commodity in the business (Jackson). In todays society, women neither are nor more
commonly used in sports broadcasting and sports media for the image they portray.
Female reporters and broadcasters are now used to bring in more male viewers based off
womens sex appeal. While I pose this question we still have not found a definitive
answer for why society started this dominating image in the world of sports media and
broadcasting, but we do know that the history of it is changing at this time.

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Work Cited

Harris, Kami. "Gender Stereotypes, Gender Segregation, And Credibility: Crossing The
Lines In Sports Media." International Journal Of Sport & Society 3.2 (2012):
137-159. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

Jackson, C.J. "Woman in a Male Dominated Industry Sports : Media Lit 101." Woman in
a Male Dominated Industry Sports : Media Lit 101. Fox 43, 2006. Web. 14 Nov.
2014.

Molinaro, Courtney Christine. "Women in Sports Broadcasting: Three Women's Stories."

Order No. 1492795 Lehigh University, 2011. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 12
Nov. 2014.
Rober, Emily A. Gender Relations In Sport. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2013. eBook
Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Trouble with the Curve. Dir. Robert Lorenz. Perf. Justin Timberlake and Amy Adams
and Clint Eastwood. Warner Brothers, 2012. DVD.

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Kristina Kosloski
ENGL 110
Prof. Bruner
November 24, 2014
Investigative Paper: Reflection

Reflection on A Females Voice in a Mans World

Over the course of writing this paper, it did bring to my attention more so that our
society has truly made some changes and that these changes have also taken place right
before my very eyes. The social issue I discuss relating to womens voices in mens
sports has definitely changed, allowing more women to seek careers within what was
known as masculine positions. My goal was to bring to attention that women have been
making strides since the mid 1900s to get ahead in the sports broadcasting world, as well
as, show the difficulties women face from society when it comes to trying to break into
masculine career positions. I brought forward several situations where women have
broken into masculine careers, and I share their experience on how they climbed the
ladder to get where they are.
When watching the movie, Trouble with the Curve, I really enjoyed looking
further into the film when trying to get the perspective from the female main characters
point of view. I especially enjoyed the scenes where she would show up the men when it
came to the sport of baseball and her knowledge pertaining to it. This made the social
topic I chose much more interesting to research about. I also used research databases,
periodicals, and an e book to go deeper into depth on this topic. I leaned how to better

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search for reliable info online from searching for information on this paper. I did not
have much trouble finding sources for this paper. I learned as a researcher and writer
than I have to find a lot of information to be able to discuss in depth about this topic.
Also being a female athlete myself, I root for women when it comes to marking
their place in the world of sports. I do believe women know just as much as men so and
have the same rights to speak their opinions on sports, such as in the careers of sports
media or broadcasting. It is always refreshing to see women still taking a stand and
speaking out vocally and athletically to this day.