Last semester I became a part of Lamda Pi Eta, the communication honor society. The adviser asked us what we wanted to research and connected us to colleagues that would be beneficial to us. He connected me with Sada Reed of UNC Chapel Hill. Ms. Reed then contacted one of her colleagues who she thought could better help me with my research, Dunja Antunovic of Penn State. Both of these women have been incredibly helpful recommending books and documentaries for me to look at.
A documentary that Ms. Reed told me about has been the most interesting to me. It mostly focuses on the media coverage women’s sports at the University of Minnesota receive, but also touches on professional athletes and the images of the athletes the media puts out. One part of the documentary that really stuck with me was how the women’s hockey team at University of Minnesota had a perfect season and won the national championship but no games were broadcast on television. The quotes at the beginning of each section also really stick out.
“We work so hard to not be respected and get credit for what we do…it’s insulting.”
“I’m a hockey player not a model. But [the media] are drawn to how you look rather than how you play.”
“It’s just how everything goes…it’s how society is with girls sports…”
“I want to be respected for what I do instead of what I look like.”
“…most of us want to be respected as an athlete not just a pretty image…”
“The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with tptMN, have produced “Media Coverage and Female Athletes: Women Play Sports, Just Not in the Media,” a documentary that uses research-based information to examine the amount and type of coverage given to female athletes.” – from the email of Ms. Reed.
The link above grants free access to the online documentary.
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