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
Billie Jean King had won the battle of sexes, which got her lots of fame. For
example, in the film Billie Jean King got interviewed before playing, and she said she
was fighting for females. She had beaten a man in the final, which had shocked the
audience because females arent viewed as athletes. Also, Billie Jean King went and
knocked on many doors to find sponsorships. After doing this, a sponsor had showed
up. Virginia Slims, a cigarette company had given Billie Jean King an endorsement to
showcase a female on their commercial ad.

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
This is problematic because the females are viewed on their looks not on
athleticism. Therefore, these women have to be very pretty or they wont be famous
and wont be viewed. Males get many endorsements too, which is very problematic
because women arent the only ones who get them.
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
The total package means that they are good looking, good at playing any sport, and
are female. Not all females can have the total package because they can easily
have one part missing like being pretty. This is a big part in female sports because
they will not get the endorsements if they arent pretty. For example, Anna
Kournikova got all the endorsements at one point because she was good looking,
but she still wasnt that good at tennis, everyone just wanted to see her face.
Another example is, everybody wanted to see pictures of Anna Kournikova and
when the Internet was working, people were waiting 1 and half minutes to see her
pictures. Lastly, when men watched her games they all went shirtless and said,
marry me.
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? /5
No it is not fair because the males are not all good looking but they still bring in an
enormous amount of viewers. The role of media has to focus on womens sports
because many women out there have a tremendous amount of skill. For example, a
news reporter said they need focus on the WNBA because she likes to see them
dunk.

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 sports bra incident was the primary focus because women never expose their
body in public. On the other hand, men always expose their bodies when they score
a goal for example, and they rip their shirts off. We rarely see female athletes
during their achievement stages because it is always about males, and they are
called the true athletes. This message communicates to young girls because they
never see their women role models celebrating and their achieving moments, which
will not inspire young girls.

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
I agree with Reeces statement because women will do anything (endorsements) to
make a living and get lots of fame. It is a while male world because the males have
to like the sport or else it will go downhill. For example, lingerie football was a good
target for males to watch because they like seeing attractive girls playing a men
sport named football.

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 agree with her statement because that is what they play on ads or television.
Most of the ads on TV are based on the women and it will not be outdated. Ads do
not sell the female audience; it is only males majority of the time. The male viewer
benefits portray themselves in sexualized ways. The female athletes dont benefit
from this because the male viewers dont appreciate her athleticism. If you sell the
female sex appeal to the male audience there will be more audience watching and
then they will see the womens talent.

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
I feel that the endorsers and sponsors are most of the time creditworthy for
advertising womens sports. They are the ones who started advertising women and
the sport they played. Ever since the Internet was created, many people wanted to
see pictures of that one player/woman, which have also branded them. Also, in the
film, woman would say they would do anything to make the money, which basically
means that they are also branding themselves. Therefore, these are the ways that
women are getting branded, which I have included.

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
Women do not make the rules the society has ruled this issue and it will stay for a
very long time. Even if women try to get better, it is still a cultural issue.

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
It opened girls for college, opened minds, gave them more choices, and inspired
girls to chase their dreams, to get college scholarships since title IX. After this
interview, participation has gone through the roof. But the women have gained very
little at the professional sports level.

11. Can you think of examples in other sports where the Key Concepts listed at the
beginning of this guide are present?
/5
All of this Key Concepts are used in sports. For example, Sport Marketing &
Promotion has to include the popular sports being promoted, such as tennis when
the Battle of Sexes was very popular. Sport Sponsorship & Endorsement is sponsors
and endorsers getting female athletes in their ads or commercials. For example,
Anna Kounikova being very popular on endorsements. Thirdly, Elite Female Athletes
are the ones who show the most talent, like Billie Jean King or Chris Evert Lloyd. In
addition, many people think that some sports are just meant for men to play, like

Football. This is an example of male dominance because when girls play Football
they think males are the ones who should be playing the sport. In conclusion, all of
the Key Concepts listed above are used in many sports.

Total

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