The popular sporting world represents a masculine hegemony. Women’s entry into this realm has historically been slow. Female sport is under-represented in news media. Female athletes portrayed in photographs are usually in stereotyped roles. One effect of such ads is to give women unrealistic notions of what they should look like. In addition to reinforcing sexist notions about ideal woman and manhood, ads exploit sexuality. Many products are pitched with explicit sexual imagery that borders on pornography. Not only do these images encourage us to think of sex as a commodity, but also they often reinforce stereotypes of women as sex objects.
In studying the images in the magazines, using Duncan’s (1990) studies of imagery in photographs and advertisements that pointed to camera angle as a means of constructing power. According to Duncan, camera angles that place the subject above the camera suggest superiority, while camera angles that place the subject below the camera suggest inferiority. It is also noted when athletes were shown engaged in their sport, or not engaged, whether they were active subjective, or passive objective, and whether they were photographed alone or with others. Women athletes would more likely be photographed with team members, again emphasizing community and relationships, feminine characteristics and not engaged in their sport and that male athletes performing alone would be more common than female athletes performing alone, emphasizing individuality and force, or strength. According to Duncan, photographs are politically motivated, which signifies the systems that work to legitimate interests in hegemonic groups and photographs contribute to shaping the consensus.
The portrayal of Anna Kournikova, on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine June 2000 edition, heading “Advantage, Kournikova”, is an example of female athletes depicted as a sexual object to an audience that shapes the consensus. Sports Illustrated, owned by...