When we talked about the study by Kian about the Themes that deal with women’s sports, I found it really interesting because it was something that I had not really noticed before. However, now I notice it very often within women’s sports.
The first theme was that “he is always on my mind.” This one was very clear cut as the commentators of many women’s games very often referred to the men’s side of sport. They always made references that talked about how great of a play that woman made and then talked about the comparison to the men’s game. Also, often times if women win a game or a championship, they will talk about the men’s team in comparison to the women’s team. When the Connecticut men’s and women’s teams won the basketball national championships in the same year, there was always a reference to both teams when talking about the women’s team, but not always when just talking about the men’s team.
The second theme about “she must have played with boys to get that good,” seems ridiculous to me. Women often times are just naturally talented. They do not necessarily had to of played with boys when they were growing up to get their talent level.
The next theme that struck me was the one about how “fathers are the role models and not many mothers are.” I found this interesting because I would believe that this is actually true in sports. Most fathers are the ones that push their kids to work hard in order to be great at sports. They are often the ones that had played when they were younger and want their children to do the same.
What themes from the study stuck out to you? I thought the study was interesting, but did not think that every theme applied in every situation.
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Good post, I was able to relate really well because I was considering a post on this same subject. Much like you, I never really paid much attention to the subtleties in the commentary of women's sports. Like we talked about in class, the "He is always on my mind" theme really seems to stick out, at least to me. Because of this class I have paid more attention to the coverage of women's sports and have encountered this theme almost on a regular basis. As we discussed, I'm not sure if it stems from the lack of prominent female figures, or if we as spectators and consumers, are drawn more the male athletes. Whatever the case may be, I'm shocked at the amount of times this theme is seen in a broadcast.
ReplyDeleteA lot like you, I also felt that every theme didn't apply in every situation. But I don't think you can expect them too. But in examining women's sports in greater detail I have found that their is at least one theme in nearly every women's sporting event.
I found the first theme to be the most interesting. I never noticed that commentators do this as often as they do but, if you sit and disect a women's game, then it is very evident. However, I don't find this to be that much of a bad thing. I feel when commentators use these comparisions, they only give the viewer something to relate to. I don't feel people are as aware of the style of play certain women basketball player immulate. Therefore, if the commentator states that a certain athlete plays like Steve Nash, instead of saying she plays like Tully Bevilaqua, the viewer will understand the male comparision better.
ReplyDeleteAl's right... I am not as familiar with Tully Bevilaqua as Steve Nash:-) I wonder if the reason we don't hear more about mothers who influenced their sons and daughters is because women have typically had fewer opportunities to compete in high levels of sport (beyond college)?
ReplyDeleteGood point Al. I think that is the reason that the commentators do what tehy do. The majority of people will not be able to relate to women athletes, but the majority of viewers will be able to acknowledge male athletes. However, I still do not think its fair that the UCONN teams are compared to each other.
ReplyDeleteI think that the UCONN team should have been compared to another women's team that has done the same thing in the past, rather than what their male counterpart has done.