SI for Kids: Basic lessons in gender, sport

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SI for Kids: Basic lessons in gender, sport

posted by Sports, Media & Society
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 9:55am PDT

Marie Hardin, associate director of the Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State University, takes a look at the interaction of sports coverage and U.S. culture.

At the UM Tucker Center lecture Monday night on women's sports and social media, I suggested that the primary function of mediated/spectator sports in U.S. culture is to reinforce gender norms (apologies to Noam Chomsky).
It starts early. Just look at SI for Kids, which disproportionately focuses on men and boys (maybe "SI for Boys" would be a better title) and relies on gender stereotypes in relationship to sports. One feature in the magazine, the "Buzz Beamer" cartoon, is sometimes so overt in its use of gender stereotypes as to be laughable (maybe that's what supposed to be funny). Buzz Beamer's October entry (p. 56) is such an example: apparently Marial Zagunis, an Olympic gold-medal fencer, is capable only of carving "beautiful" pumpkins; her male counterpart (hockey player Alex Ovechkin), of course, is capable only of making the opposite (a scary one).
Obviously, the problem with this kind of message is that underlying it is the assumption of gender binaries. What do girls and boys take away from a cartoon that makes this point? Unfortunately, it's not a message that encourages girls or boys to move beyond traditional gender roles that hinder both from exploring sports activities they might otherwise pursue.

View Original Post at sportsmediasociety.blogspot.com

Filed Under:
SportsPLUS, Youth, Student-Athlete, Media/Marketing

There is 1 comment on this post. Join the discussion!

cdnwsports

Throughout the almost 21 years that SI for kids has been in publication, there have been only 24 female athletes on the cover. And even when female athletes are featured, they usually appear with a male athlete.
Even more disturbing is the fact that over the past 9 years, since 2000, only 2 female athletes (Diana Taurasi and Serena Williams) have been on the cover.
Its obvious that SI for kids, like Sports Illustrated, isn't interested in promoting equality in the sports media or reaching out to young female athletes. Sad, but true.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 12:46pm PDT

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