The Rampant Sexism on Display at the Rio Olympics
(there are some twitter clips that I cannot figure out how to embed at the link below)
The Rampant Sexism on Display at the Rio Olympics
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Sexism has been on display in the coverage of the Rio Olympics so far. (Photo: Shawn Carpenter/flickr/cc)
On Thursday night, American swimmer Simone Manuel tied with Canadian Penny Oleksiak for a historic gold medal in the 100m freestyle. NBC didn’t air Manuel’s medal ceremony right away — even though she’s the first African American woman to win gold for an individual swim.
Instead, the network aired a delayed broadcast of Russian gymnasts. The BBC, however, did air the medal ceremony as it was happening. Watch the contrast between both programs here.
The sexism and racism aren’t limited to broadcast coverage. The San Jose Mercury News didn’t even bother to include Manuel’s name in a headline that read: “Olympics: Michael Phelps shared historic night with African-American.”
Throughout the first week of the Rio Olympics, sexism has been on display again and again in the coverage of the athletic prowess of thousands of incredible women athletes:
NBC commentator Jim Watson on Simone Biles’ uneven-bars performance: “I think she might even go higher than the men.”
Simone Biles on uneven bars
. . . . .
The outcome? Some of the greatest athletes ever — confident women who embody power, focus and dedication — perform at the highest level of sport, earn medals, break world records, and, in Manuel’s case, push past the history of racism in U.S. swimming pools. Instead of being recognized for their success on their own merits, they’re compared with men, see their hard work credited to men, have their names omitted from stories, and are labeled as wives and mothers. To top it all off they’re paid less than men. More women than men are representing the U.S. in Rio and women are expected to take home more medals, even though there are fewer events women are eligible for. The Olympics, noted one blogger, “should be a great opportunity to highlight to our daughters (and our sons) how women can not only be athletes, they can be the best athletes on the planet.” (You can read about the sexism on display in Rio at Bustle and the Huffington Post or watch a few examples over at AJ+.)
As a lifelong athlete I’ve always bristled at the inadequate coverage of women athletes, which all too often focuses on clothing, shoes and personal lives as opposed to skill level, training regimen and achievements. Playing sports like swimming and softball has helped me learn to love and use my body, voice and mind. Sports have taught me assertiveness, leadership skills and goal setting. Athletics have given me survival skills, gotten me through some difficult times and given me a sense of belonging and community when I needed it most. All of this is still part of my life today.
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http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/08/13/rampant-sexism-display-rio-olympics
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