The problem with the sexualization and objectification of athletes
By Maggie Hsu, February 16 2025—
Professional athletes are known for their strength, stamina, skills and sheer determination to overcome mental and physical obstacles to perform at the highest levels. In a space where we bear witness to people at their peak fitness at a high level of performance, it’s hard to not be in awe of their physical prowess.
Yet, this spectacle deals with an additional challenge—being sexualized and objectified in the media—an issue that is more prominent to female athletes than their male counterparts. The binary of male athletes depicted as powerful and focused on their game versus female athletes often framed from a lens of how their hair and nails are done, what and if they’re wearing makeup, reduces their accomplishments to the backburner.
While the issue of being sexualized and objectified is applicable to both sides of the binary, it’s hard to ignore the fact that it affects female athletes more. A 2017 study by Cynthia Frisby analyzed 109 covers featuring athletes from Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine, finding that 88.1 per cent of the cover models were men. In the remaining percentile of female athlete covers, 59 per cent of the photos were posed rather than action shots. Additionally, while male athletes were dressed in their uniforms or styled in everyday clothes, female athletes were scantily clad and posed seductively. Frisby concluded that the male athletes were easily placed in their sports while the styling of the women were completely removed from theirs, reinforcing the notion that the physical appearances of female athletes is more important than their athletic abilities.
The reduction of female athletes to their appearances over their abilities and achievements in their field of play not only reinforces archaic gender norms but has greater consequences of discouraging young girls from pursuing sports as this environment is both unwelcoming in recognizing them as athletes and the awareness that they will not be taken as seriously as their male counterparts—by traditional sports audiences and the media.
How can we be better as sports fans and consumers of sports media? How can we combat this issue to make this space more welcoming to the young girls aspiring to be the next big name in not only women’s sports but sports overall?
If we start at the producers of the media, broadcasters, journalists and photographers need to prioritize portraying and representing female athletes as the athletes they are with greater emphasis on action shots and coverage that highlight athletic achievements without commenting on physical appearance.
Ultimately, as a society, we must critique and challenge the patriarchal biases that have been pre-determined by media makers that perpetuate these disparities. Female athletes should feel free to express themselves in their appearances but ultimately have the conversations surrounding their talent. Yes, sex sells and there is a healthy way to leverage that as we’ve seen with pregame outfit photos that intersect the interests of sports and fashion however, their success, dedication and contribution to their sport deserve the greatest respect.