Nine for IX Film Discussion Guide: Branded

Key Concepts:
Sport Marketing & Promotion
Sport Sponsorship & Endorsement
Elite Female Athletes
Objectification
Homophobia
Social Construction Of Gender
Sport Media Coverage
Power
Male Dominance
Nationalism
Capitalism
Hegemony

Discussion Questions: Answer and place on your weebly page

1. What role did Billie Jean King have in gaining sponsorship for womens
tennis and paving the way for endorsement and sponsorship opportunities for
womens sport? /5
She went and knocked on doors for sponsorships and donors. Also, in an
interview she said that she played the game and earned the money for the
game. It was rightfully hers and that is true. She worked for the money and
she got it. As well, Virgina Slims, a cigarette company, helped the Billie Jean
King by sponsoring her, as they were a company who wanted equal rights for
women as well.

2. Chris Evert Lloyd, the first female tennis player and athlete to cross the
$1 million dollar endorsement mark says in the film, Like or not, the
feminine women athletes were the only ones who got the endorsements.
Why is this statement problematic for female athletes? /5
That was problematic because then the females have to have the full

package. They have to be pretty, skilled, good at what they do and appeal to
both sexes. They have to not just be good at their sport, like men, they have
to do that and everything else such as being pretty and getting endorsments,
and being photogenic and have good charisma. If they are not feminine
looking or act girly then they are not seen as good athletes. Women athletes
nowadays have to not only play femininely, but also with skill, which is very
hard.

3. Many individuals interviewed in Branded talked about themselves or

female athletes that have/had the total package such as Lolo Jones, Chris
Evert, Anna Kournikova, Danica Patrick and Gabby Reece. What do you think
is meant by this descriptor in terms of gender, race, class, disability, and
sexual orientation? Can all female athletes have the the total package and
what are the implications of this for women who dont fit this narrow ideal?
Use examples from the film to back up your contention. /5
In the terms of certain things, the whole package that they are talking about
are women who are cisgender, white, are of a high stature, dont have any
disabilities, and are straight. When Martina Navratilova faced off against Chris
Evert, she was ridiculed because she was not pretty and she was also openly
gay. This hurt her because at the time, being gay was not seen as something
that gave you the whole package.

4. Is it fair to blame women athletes for not drawing as many fans as their
male counterparts and not having more buzz, interest or mass appeal
as a few individuals stated in the film? Why or why not? What is the role of
media in creating interest?
No it is not fair to blame women athletes for not drawing as many fans
because women have to have a lot of things, such as sex appeal and skill, to
actually draw fans. As one interviewee states, the best way to get respect
was just shut your mouth and play the game. The medias role in creating
interest is that when they focus on a certain woman, then the media will
create the interest because they are focusing on a particular woman and
soon all of the gossip, and the theories will come out and there is the
attention.

5. In the film Brandi Chastain was interviewed about her famous sports
bra incident which occurred when she successfully made the final penalty
kick to win the 1999 World Cup and ripped off her shirt exposing her muscled

body and sports bra. She stated in the film people talked more about the bra,
than the game. Why do you think the primary focus became Chastains sports
bra? Chastain also said celebrating is about women owning and accepting
and feeling good about their achievements and there are not enough stages
for young girls to see women have those moments. Why do we so seldomly
see female athletes and womens sport on TV or those stages? What
message does this communicate to young girls? Use social theory to explain
this phenomena. /5
The primary focus was on her bra because it was probably one of the first
times that a female athlete had ever done anything like that. Sure, it was
normal for men to do so, but for women? Unthinkable. As well, the sports
community does not see women as equals, in this time period, in the sports
community, so they wanted to make a commotion about it. It made Chastian
feel bad for wearing a bra, something that she has to, and something that is
needed, yet they hurt her for it.
We seldom see women and female athletes have these moments because
they are not broadcast out widely, and the world does not particularly care
about them. In this, the young girls of the world feel inferior and start to think
that they are not as good as the men and that they will never be as good as
them. This ruins their confidence and in turn, destroys the hope for many
young girls to become professional athletes.

6. In the film former pro beach volleyball star Gabrielle Gabby Reece felt
that people get nervous when women exert their own agency and exploit
themselves by capitalizing on her looks to make a living or to attract
attention. Do you agree or disagree with Reece? Analyze her statement along
with the statement made by former sports editor Sandra Rosenbush its a
White male world and were just living in it? /5
People do tend to get nervous when women exploit themselves and capitalize
on their looks because the world (men) is not used to seeing women
independent and it scares them; it scares them that they are able to be
successful when only the men of the world have been successful. I do agree
with Reece and that they should capitalize on what they can. The statement
made by Rosenbush is another example of how the world (men) are scared of
how the women could be more successful than them and that it will no longer
be theirs.

7. Gabby Reece in the film strongly states I dont think selling sex is ever
going to be outdated...breasts are never going to be out. Do you agree with
her statement? Does this statement hold true for everyone? Who benefits
and who does not benefit when women are routinely asked to portray
themselves in sexualized ways? How might selling sex or breasts help
increase interest in and respect for womens sport?
/5

Yes I do agree with this statement because for as long as there are men in the
world, then selling sex and breasts will never be out. Men like to objectify
women and this is just another way for them to be able to do that in a way
that is not condemned by society. However, this statement does not hold true
for everyone, such as other women, and in some cases, some men. The
people who benefit when women portray themselves in a sexual way are the
women themselves, for the money they make, and the men who want to
watch them. On the other hand, the women also do not benefit because then
they are seen as impure and other such things and their reputation is
tarnished.

8. According to the filmmakers, the premise of the film is about branding

female athletes. Who is ultimately responsible for branding female athletes
and womens sport? In the film, Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton stated in
the process of her branding that she lost [her] voice for a long time. Using
your sociological imagination (ability to see different perspectives in how
individual behaviors, values and choices are influenced by society and the
social world around them) and what you heard in the film to discuss to what
degree female athletes have a choice about how they are branded? How has
the Internet and digital media changed the marketing and promoting of
womens sport? /5
By losing the genetic lottery that determined their sex, they were destined
to be branded by a higher power and in that way the women inadvertently
branded themselves. It is unfair. As I stated above about the genetic lottery,
the women do not have much choice but they can alter it slightly. The media
and internet have played a role in branding by objectifying women by
portraying them in sexual ways and how men want to see them. In that,
womens sport has been changed to more of a marketing battleground than a
sport.

9. Use hegemony theory to analyze the film and the statement made at the
end of the film that selling sex is a cultural issue and thats just the way it
is. /5
By thats just the way it is it means that there is no real way to change the
opinion of men and that they know that when women get into sports, some
way or another, they will become objectified and that there is no way out.
They know their fate is sealed once they enter the business because selling
sex will never be out and it is the way to make money and be successful.

10. The filmmaker asks an interesting question in the film: Have things gotten
better for women in sports since Title IX? How did the interviewees answer
that question? What, if anything, has gotten better? What, if anything, has
gotten worse? (To dive deeper see Additional Readings: Cooky & LaVoi, 2012)

/5
The interviewees say that Title IX has given women the chance to live their
dreams and be able to play sports. As well, participation in womens sports
have gone up and that more and more young girls are getting into sports.
This means that hopefully in the future that womens sports will become
commonplace in our society in the way that women will be able to make the
same amount of money and not be ridiculed or treated less than they are. For
example, when Mary Lou Retton said that she was not to talk about anything
that would make people upset, that was just a euphemism for keep quiet and
do what you trained for. In mens sports, it is different because they are able
to speak their mind without anyone making them feel like they did something
reprehensible.

11. Can you think of examples in other sports where the Key Concepts listed
at the beginning of this guide are present?
/5All sports have those
concepts. For example, in figure skating, a male skater named Johnny Weir
was ridiculed for his feminine style of skating by the committee because they
thought that all men had to have a masculine style of skating. Another
example in a different sport is with the Canadian Womens Soccer team
because they get no coverage, no funding and they are only on the news
when they are in contention for a medal, or something controversial has
come up, otherwise they are not in the media at all. As I stated above, all
sports have one or another of the key concepts listed above in them, some
more than others.

Total

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