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In this paper, African American women and Black women will be used interchangeably when referring to women of color. Introduction Despite the passing of Title XI over 40 years ago and the increased acceptance of womens sports, there has been an adverse reaction by the media as a result of the assorted culture that makes up women's athletics. According to the 2012 WNBA Racial and Gender Report Card, African American women make up 74 percent of the league. Additionally, in 2012, The New York Times reported that the WNBA is the most successful womens sports league in American history. Although women of color are receiving more media coverage, that airtime is being coupled with the association of traditional gender roles and racial stereotypes. Female athletes are being oversexualized, defeminized and often racialized, not only as a result of the male dominated world in which they play, but also the predominately white society in which they live. Sports media coverage should display more positive images of women of color because they make up such a large percentage of professional sports and essentially, have largely contributed to the success of womens sports in the United States. The purpose of this research is to identify why and how female athletes of color, specifically African American women, are misrepresented in mainstream sports media coverage. This research draws upon existing works and theories such as hegemonic masculinity, intersectionality and agenda setting. Exploring the misrepresentation of female athletes of color will further the conversation about inclusive, positive and most importantly, accurate depictions of such women.

PLAYING GENDER Justification for study Examining the research around the representation of women of color in mainstream sports media coverage is significant for many reasons, which concern both sex and race, individually and collectively. First, a disparity still exists between the participation of female athletes versus male athletes. According to the Womens Sports Foundation, female college athletes receive $183 million less in NCAA athletic scholarships ($965 million female vs. $1.15 billion male). Continuing the conversation about the differences between the sexes in relation to athletics ensures that society does not become exceedingly complacent with the current state of women in sports. Second, this research explores representation of female athletes of color in more recent technology, such as social media and other forms of online media. According a 2013 Pew Research study, 30 percent of U.S. adults use Facebook to read news and 16 percent use Twitter as their source for news. With neither of these mediums in existence fifteen years ago, this shortterm growth and popularity as a source of news cannot go unconsidered in todays media studies. There is existing research about the coverage of how social media is being consumed by fans, athletes, and sports organizations and how technology has the potential to change the sports media landscape (Hambriek, Simmons, Greenhalgh, & Greenwell, 2010). But, rarely are women the single focus of these studies, and even more rarely are women of color. Third, discussing racial equality and gender in sports media coverage, as it relates the overarching societal importance can have positive implications for all young women who aspire to participate in athletics. Not only is the coverage of women limited in terms of depictions, but also airtime. A 20-year study of network and cable titled, Women Play Sports But Not on TV found men take up 96% of sports news. The limited coverage that women receive sends the

PLAYING GENDER message that young female athletes will not be able to achieve the same fame and popularity as their male counterparts. Furthermore, girls who participate in sports and are more academically successful, more likely to graduate from high school, more likely to matriculate in college, and more likely to experience greater career success (Butler & Lopiano, 2003). According to a NCAA study, black female student-athletes in NCAA Division I are graduating at a far higher rate (59 percent) than black females in the general student body (42 percent) (NCAA, 1997). Essentially, my hope is that the research serves as a way to address issues in sports, while making connections to issues within larger society. Literature Review Inequalities that exist due to race and gender are naturally intertwined (Butler & Lopiano, 2003). Limited images assigned by the sports media to women of color are a direct reflection of the racism and sexism that this country was built upon. A study conducted by the Womens Sports Foundation analyzed the racial and gender trends as a result of the passage of Title IX. The research found that despite the 955 percent increase in NCAA participation of women of color since 1972, female athletes of color were still significantly underrepresented in comparison to the overall female population of students (Butler & Lopiano, 2003). Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 20 U.S.C. Section 1681.

PLAYING GENDER Simply put, Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in educational programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. Contrary to popular belief, Title IX protects against discrimination in all educational activities funded by the government, not just athletics. This monumental law assures women athletes the right to equal opportunities in sports at all levels of federally funded educational institutions, from elementary schools to colleges and universities. Since the passing of Title IX in 1972, female participation in athletics has risen at an astounding rate (Riebock, 2012). However, despite the availability of more messages and images of female athletes than ever before, sports are still considered masculine, even by youth in a post-Title IX generation (Riebock, 2012). The disconnect between participation and perception is a direct result of the medias illustrations of women in sports. Theories Defined In 1970, Frances Beal wrote that African-American women experience double jeopardy, meaning someone who has two minority identities experiences significantly heightened oppression as opposed to what occurs with someone with only one minority identity. The reality is that: (a) female athletes who have multiple minority identities have been marginalized; and (b) their gender difference is magnified by their other minority identity (Roper, et.al., 2013). The concept of intersectionality can be used as the basis to conceptualize the medias depictions of women of color in sports. Crenshaw (1991) described intersectionality as the idea that the intersection of racism and sexism factors into Black womens lives in ways that cannot be captured entirely by looking at the race or gender dimensions of those experiences separately (p. 1244). In order to explore the idea of intersectionality, she uses the concept of an intersection with four different places where cars meet at the traffic light. As it relates to this study, athletes have several, fragmented,

PLAYING GENDER and conflicting identities that not only navigate their personal identities, but also navigate their social identities (Krane & Barber, 2003). Some of these identities include: race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin, and ability status (Fisher, Roper, & Butryn, 2009). If all female athletes were Caucasian, heterosexual, middle-class, Christian, American, ablebodied women, the media would only have their gender to consider when covering them. The intersection of these identities allows some to experience privilege while others experience oppression (McIntosh, 1988). The media have the power to shape the thoughts and ideas salient in the minds of sports fans within their commentary, but this idea has not always been applied to sports. McCombs and Shaw (1972) examined the agenda-setting theory by conducting a study on how impactful the news media was with potential local voters during the United States Presidential election of 1968. The principle born out of their study stated, the mass media set the agenda for each political campaign, influencing the salience of attitudes toward the political issue (p. 177). The study developed the agenda-setting theory, which suggests that while mass media may not tell us what to think, they often tell us what to think about, when the issues at hand do not otherwise obtrude into our lives (Denham & Billings, 2002). According to McCombs (1992), the employment of agenda setting has expanded beyond its initial investigation on public issues. We see the perfect example of this in the world of sports media. Denham and Billings (2002) conducted a content analysis of 1,118 descriptors embedded in commentator dialogue of the 2000 Mens and Womens NCAA Final Four College Basketball Tournaments coverage. Using agenda-setting theory, the researchers found that while Black athletes (men and women) continue to be praised for their athleticism and physicality, men were beginning to also receive a greater number of comments about their intelligence and ability to

PLAYING GENDER lead, while women were not (p. 15). According to Denham and Billings, comments about the appearance of female athletes outnumbered similar comments about male athletes by a 12:1 ratio, which clearly mirrors sentiments of many sport and gender researchers. For example, Kinkema and Harris (1998) note: The media trivialize female athletes by devoting a disproportionately smaller amount of time to their performances as well as by highlighting physical attractiveness or their domestic roles such as wife, mother, or supportive girlfriend of a male. Female athletes are evaluated partially in terms of the extent to which their physical characteristics or domestic roles correspond to dominant notions of femininity (p. 38). As Kinkema and Harris discuss, the depictions of female athletes are a reflection of larger societal ideas about what femininity has been constructed to mean. Thus the medias agenda is merely an imitation of social constructs. In relation to women of color, McKay and Johnson (2007) analyze how sections of the media have depicted Serena and Venus Williams (and other Black sportswomen) as threats to sports racist and sexist regime. Because the Williams sisters are dominant sports figures that advance the idea of girl power and black power, they have been framed as a threat. Similarly, Rowe (1990) believes that gender hierarchies are vulnerable whenever womens bodies are deemed to be excessive: too fat, too mouthy, too old, too dirty, too pregnant, too sexual (or not sexual enough) for the norms of conventional gender representation (p. 409). Schulze (1990) followed this argument, stating that muscularity can be added to this list of bodily transgressions, since the deliberately muscular woman disturbs dominant notions of sex, and conflict, anxiety and ambiguity (p. 108). Though muscularity in women and men is becoming an increasingly desirable body type it is, still hyper muscularity in women that threatens heteronormative gender relations (Wensing, 2005). Inherently, many

PLAYING GENDER women who participate in athletics impend upon heteronormative ideas of gender because of their muscular body types and physical abilities. Connell (1996) defines hegemonic masculinity as the configuration of gender practice which embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of the legitimacy of patriarchy, which guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and the subordination of women. Although feminism is accepted in society, it is only accepted as a trait of women, not men because all forms of femininity in society are constructed in the context of the overall subordination of women to men (Connell, p. 186). As discussed above, in the world of sports, being a female athlete contradicts and confuses traditional gender roles that have been in place since the beginning of time. Naturally, the best athletes are physically strong, competitive, and driven - all characteristics that society has deemed masculine, which has become problematic. As a result, when hegemonic femininity (the dominant view of femininity over masculinity) is outwardly transgressed through sport, it is often presumed that heterosexuality is equally in question. If someone is perceived as being unfeminine they are also assumed to be lesbian (Davinson & Frank, 2006). This issue, unlike most others transcends racial lines, as it applies to all women in sports. Social Media As social media use increases, so does the idea of a twenty-four hour news cycle. Social media allows fans, players and all other sports related persons unlimited access to the world of athletics. When discussing media in terms of social media, the people, the fans and the followers are synonymous with that of a traditional news reporter. The discourse solely devoted to women athletes of color and their representation on social media is limited, but there is one particular article that taps into this essential topic.

PLAYING GENDER Blogger, Lyndsay Luff published an article titled, Why Black Female Athletes Just Cant Win When It Comes To Their Hair Even When Theyre Winning Golds. This interesting blog post discussed why many people took to social media to criticize the hairstyle of U.S. Olympian Gabby Douglas and other black women who compete in the Olympics for Team USA. Instead of applauding their efforts, Americans- many of whom were fellow African American women, critiqued the condition of the hairstyle instead of the performance of the athletes. The article explained that Gabby was not alone, Sanya Richards-Ross, the first American woman to win a gold medal in the 400-meters event since 1984, was also scrutinized on Twitter about her hairstyle. Carmelita Jeter, Maya Lawrence and the Williams sisters were also victims of these virtual hair discussions. The idea of critiquing the hairstyle of a female athlete of color is essential to the notion that the media coverage highlights their physical appearance rather than their performance. As Kinkema and Harris (1998) noted, The media trivialize female athletes by devoting a disproportionately smaller amount of time to their performances as well as by highlighting physical attractiveness Notably, many of the criticism came from other Black women. This fact reinforces the power of the agenda setting theory on both traditional and non-traditional media platforms and for all types of people.

Importance to Field of Communications

African American women are underrepresented in research on sport as that research tends to reect the values and interests of the White male majority(Bruening, 2005, p.331).

PLAYING GENDER Even though depictions of black women in sports media coverage have been narrow, there is a wide range of significant takeaways for the field of communications, overall. As it stands today, the body of research available specifically and explicitly to the medias representations of women of color in sports is limited. This study draws upon similar theories and ideologies discussed in previous research conducted in the fields of sports communications, feminism and other categories of sociology as they relate to sports. Additionally, because social media plays such a large role in how marketing professionals reach consumers today, it is vital that there is an understanding of what is acceptable in terms of race and gender illustrations on such platforms. In relation to the profession of sports marketing, there is a lack of diversity in sports commentary and particularly the coverage of women in sports (Associated Press Sports Editors Racial and Gender Report Card, 2012). This research serves as a resource that marketing professionals can use as they consider how to strategically communicate with disadvantaged groups to whom they otherwise have limited access. According to a 2011 Nielson study, with a population of close to 43 million, African Americans collective buying power is projected to be at $1.1 trillion by 2015. Obviously, the ability to market and communicate with people of color transcends sports marketing professionals and extends to all marketing professionals. If nothing else, the field of communications can benefit merely from understanding where disparities in media representations exist, as the people who do, will have a more comprehensive understanding of the society in which they live. Conclusion and Recommendations To be a person of color and a woman is a double jeopardy, which only that demographic of people can physically grasp. My studies suggest that sport medias portrayal of women of

PLAYING GENDER color is not an issue of equal coverage- if the market does not call for women to be shown at all times, so be it, but it is about accurate coverage. As far as my recommendations, I have three fundamental suggestions including the following:

1. More women of color should be in executive positions in big name sports media corporations. As stated earlier, according to the 2012 WNBA Racial and Gender Report Card, African American women make up 74 percent of the league. Sports media should display more positive images of women of color because they make up such a large percentage of the most popular professional sports teams. The way I see it, the more women of color in positions of power, the more influential decisions that can be made on behalf of not only women of color, but all women.

2. Increase airtime of women's sporting events. As mentioned above, the issue of representations in sport media for women of color is more about quality over quantity, but increasing the airtime will help encourage the upcoming generation of young female athletes to stay active and pursue their dreams of performing as professional athletes.

3. Display women of color as athletes first and women second. Their talent, abilities and work ethic should outweigh their gender. Just as the media has the power to set the agenda, it also has the ability to change the agenda. It is the responsibility of the media to enforce gender and racial equality because it has historically reinforced contrasting ideas.

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PLAYING GENDER Although the research finds that the media portrayals for women of color are limited to sexist and racist ideologies that exist in society, there is a significant amount of research that can still be completed on the subject matter. Some of the limitations of this study include:

Social media: As I mentioned in the analysis of social media, studies pertaining to women of color and social media are limited in regards to sports. Exploring social media will only broaden the conversation about race, gender and sport, which has potential to get a head of the curve, assuming that social media will be around for the long run.

Major sports networks combined: There are many studies that look at how athletes of color (not necessarily women) are being shown in media (ie. Rinkus, 2012), yet there is no definitive work done that includes all of the major sports networks, such as ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, etc.

Up-to-date research: Much of the research that I found about the topics was outdated. I believe that a lot has changed in the coverage of womens sports since the 1990s and even the early 2000s, therefore the research should be a reflection of that advancement.

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References The 2012 Associated Press Sports Editors Racial and Gender Report Card. (2012). The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. Bambara, T. C. (1970). The Black woman: An anthology. New York: New American Library. Butler, J. and D. Lopiano., The Womens Sports Foundation Report: Title IX and Race In Intercollegiate Sport (2003). Womens Sports Foundation, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, NY 11554. Bruening JE, Armstrong KL and Pastore DL (2005) Listening to the voices: The experiences of African American female student athletes. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 76(1): 82100. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6). Davison, K. G., & Frank, B. W. (1996). Sexualities, Genders, and Bodies in Sport: Changing Practices of Inequity. Differential Accounts of Race in Broadcast Commentary of the 2000 NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four Basketball Tournaments. (2002). Sociology of Sport Journal, 19(3). Hambrick, M. E., Simmons, J. M., Greenhalgh, G. P., & Greenwell, T. C. (2010). Twitter in sport: A content analysis of professional athlete tweets. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3, 454-471. Holter, O. G. (1996). Book Reviews : R. W. Connell: Masculinities. Kinkema, K.M. and Harris, J.C. (1998) MediaSport studies: key research and emerging issues, in L.A. Wenner (ed.) MediaSport. London: Routledge. Krane, V., & Barber, H. (2003). Lesbian experiences in sport: A social identity perspective. Quest, 55, 328346. Lapchick, R., Milkovich , M., & O'Keefe, S. (2012). The 2012 Women?s National Basketball Association Racial and Gender Report Card. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. Retrieved from http://www.tidesport.org/RGRC/2012/2012_WNBA_RGRC.pdf Luff, L. (n.d.). Why Black Female Athletes Just Can?t Win When It Comes To Their Hair? Even When They?re Winning Golds | Fashionista. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://fashionista.com/2012/08/why-black-female-athletes-just-cant-win-when-it-comesto-their-haireven-when-theyre-winning-golds/

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PLAYING GENDER Lunden, I. (2013, November 14). Pew Social Media Study: 30% Of The U.S. Gets News Via Facebook; Reddit Has The Most News-Hungry Regular Users | TechCrunch. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/14/pew-social-mediastudy-30-of-the-u-s-gets-news-via-facebook-reddit-has-the-most-news-hungry-regularusers/ McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly. McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in womens studies. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston. Messner, M., & Cooky, C. (2010). Gender In Televised Sports. Center for Feminist Research, University of Southern California . NCAA Study on Division I Graduation Rates, 1997. Rhoden, W. (2012, October 7). Amid Successes, W.N.B.A. Is Still Facing Challenges NYTimes.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/sports/basketball/amid-successes-wnba-is-stillfacing-challenges.html?_r=0 Riebock, A. (2012). Sexualized Representation of Female Athletes in the Media: How Does it Affect Collegiate Female Athlete Body Perceptions? Roper, E. A. (2013). Gender relations in sport. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Rowe, Kathleen (1990) Roseanne: Unruly Woman as Domestic Goddess, Screen, 31(4). Schultz, L. (1990). "On the Muscle" from fabrications: Costume and the Female Body. The State of the African-American Consumer. (2011, September 22). Retrieved March 13, 2014, from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2011/state-ofthe-african-american-consumer.html Title IX Myth-Fact | Women's Sports Foundation. (2013, March 18). Retrieved March 12, 2014, from https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/en/home/advocate/title-ix-andissues/what-is-title-ix/title-ix-myths-and-facts United States Department of Justice. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titleix.php Wensing, E. H. (2005). Book Review: Built to Win: The Female Athlete as Cultural Icon. International Review for The Sociology of Sport. doi:10.1177/1012690205052174

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