The Male Gaze and Online Sports Punditry

The Male Gaze and Female Subjugation

The traditionally patriarchal structure of Western society has far reaching effects in the sexual economy of media. Although it seems logical to assume that men and women play equal roles as media consumers, most media content is designed to appeal to a male audience—even content that is supposedly targeted toward women (Durham, 2008). The imagined or literal presence of this male audience is referred to as the male gaze and is found across a wide swath of modern media content.

Identifying the male gaze in modern film, Laura Mulvey’s seminal 1975 work Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema highlights the extent to which the concept of voyeuristic pleasure enables the patriarchal construction of an “exhibitionist role” for women on the screen. Mulvey describes how “women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for a strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness” (p. 62).

The male gaze has pervasive effects on media content and notions of gender roles and sexuality. Perhaps most notably, media messages promote a very specific body ideal that emphasizes thinness (Bissell, 2004) and other “attractive” characteristics. These male-promoted ideals have profound behavioral and psychological effects on women. Calogero (2004) observed that women who anticipated interacting with men experienced heightened social anxiety and body shame. These effects can be explained in part by the traditionally patriarchal structure of Western society and the consequential high social value of appealing to men (Durham, 2008).

In addition to causing body shame and anxiety, media images also undervalue the diversity of women’s abilities beyond the physical. Objectification occurs when the media emphasize women’s bodies or body parts collectively (Calogero, Pina, Park, & Rahemtulla, 2010) and intellectual attributes become merely supplementary factors in terms of social and economic appeal. In the hierarchy of audio-visual content on television, the male gaze places primary emphasis on the visual, where the woman’s individual commentary is merely an afterthought (Mulvey, 1975). The media also promote a power structure that uses stereotyping to place men as socially superior to women (Hammer, 2009); media images present a very limited spectrum of roles for women (Timson, 2001). Dill, Brown, and Collins (2008) found that overly sexualized, demeaning media images of women “cause men to advocate keeping women ‘in their place’” (p. 1406).

Considering the prevalence of objectification in the media, it is no surprise that women in sports broadcasting—a male-dominated industry— frequently become objects of the male gaze. When looking at women in sports, Brandt and Carstens (2005) developed the term “ideology of the male gaze,” which explains how women in sports are objectified in accord with stereotypes that are reinforced by the majority of male audience members. Although Brandt and Carstens applied this information to female athletes, it can be broadened to include female sportscasters as well, as both situations involve workplace beauty ideals in sports.

Presence and Role of Women in Sports

The absence of women in sports serves as an indicator of the social and political status of women (Toro, 2005). This form of symbolic annihilation in a social sphere is exacerbated by the media as they reinforce notions of male domination by underreporting female sports and stereotyping women in a sexualized manner (Brandt & Carstens, 2005). In the world of sports broadcasting, this patriarchal dominance becomes even more evident (Etling & Young, 2007).

Although men have traditionally dominated sports media, female sportscasters have forged their way into the sports realm in recent decades (Toro, 2005). However, it appears that although women are being hired more frequently, the qualification for employment rests more on physical appearance than experience in broadcast journalism or deep knowledge of sports (Houston, 2008; Toro, 2006). This finding is only reinforced by the fact that Playboy currently publishes a yearly list of the sexiest female sportscasters (Houston, 2008)—demonstrating that female sports journalists are valued highly for their physical appearance (especially in venues where the target demographic is men), although being undervalued for their job aptitude.

Nitz, Reichert, Aune, and Velde (2007) reaffirm that there is strong pressure for female television journalists as a whole to be sexualized; media companies have found that they benefit financially from presenting audiences with hegemonically constructed female roles in programming (Brandt & Carstens, 2005). The suggestion is that women who become sportscasters must meet a superficial criterion: they must be physically attractive and pleasing to male viewers.

These factors combine to shape the dynamics and sexual politics of sports reporting in significant ways. In sports media, a lack of female presence creates barriers for women who aspire to become sports journalists (Strong, 2007). Strong found that female sports journalists are often ignored when they attempt to enter the profession whereas males are practically coached for their positions as sports journalists. The world of sports reporting is largely seen as a private boys’ club (Eastman & Billings, 2000); if women are able to make a career for themselves in sports journalism, they typically see themselves as having a lower status in the field than men. It is also important to consider the role of affirmative action policies on perceptions of women in the workplace. There are indicators that while affirmative action results in increased competitiveness in women, competitiveness and participation among men decreases beyond what would be expected by the concurring probability effect (Niederle, Segal, & Vesterlund, 2007). This male-centric lack of desire to participation in affirmative action structures may have implications for men’s willingness to later cooperate with their female counterparts: there exist concerns that male opponents of affirmative action measures may be less willing to cooperate with women hired under affirmative action (Villeval, 2012).

Should female sportscasters choose to run the gauntlet of hiring demands constructed by a male-dominated social sphere and break into the industry, they are often faced with even more challenges while performing their jobs. Reflecting a long checkered history in sports broadcasting, Strong (2007) demonstrates that female journalists are often sexually harassed by male sports figures; many female sportscasters believe that the harassment and discrimination that they undergo in the workplace is an increasingly serious problem (Hardin & Shain, 2005). Similarly, Eberhard and Myers (1988) found that “the discrimination faced by female sportswriters seemed to fall into four categories: denial of access to locker rooms, sexual harassment, condescension and being threatened physically” (p. 598).

Facing obstacles from within media organizations and from society at large makes it increasingly difficult for women to become respected sports journalists. Although the difficulties that female sportscasters face come from a variety of sources, the male-dominated atmosphere of sports in general appears to create the majority of problems for female journalists.

Physical Attributes and Credibility

In addition to difficulties faced in gaining access to the realm of sports broadcasting, female sports reporters may find it excessively onerous to garner a sense of credibility from others. Simply put, credibility is believability (Brann & Himes, 2010). More complexly, it can be seen as a combination of expertness, trustworthiness, qualification, and professionalism. Although there is no single universal definition of credibility, all of these factors contribute to perceptions of credibility (Brann & Himes). As this section will explain, credibility can also be affected by external factors, including physical appearance and race.

Masculinity and Misogyny on the Sports Blogosphere

A considerable amount of research focusing on issues of credibility and gender norms in sports and sports broadcasting has produced findings reflective of larger cultural values (Kane & Greendorfer, 1994). However, these concepts, along with issues pertaining to masculine spaces, specifically on the sports blogosphere, have garnered decidedly less attention. Building on research suggesting a hegemonically constructed and inherently masculine discourse in the news media (Strutt & Hissey, 1992; Theberge & Cronk, 1986; Tuchman, 1978), it stands to reason that the combination of this socialized structure in the media is multiplied when the focus is turned to the often overtly male centric subset of sports media.

Koivula (2001) explains how some activities (sports included) have become the provenance of either male or female domains, and how perceived gender norms enable the social construction of dichotomous gender categorizations. Similarly, sports media simultaneously perpetuates male dominance while harnessing these socialized inequalities for profit (Birrell & Cole, 1990). Duncan and Hasbrook (1988) describe sports as a social and cultural realm that creates assumptions of male social superiority based on the notion that men are physiologically superior to women. Sports and sports media simultaneously enable and thrive on this process (Kane & Snyder, 1989). The result is the socialization of male dominance and cultivation of chauvinism and misogynistic tendencies in sports and sports media (Birrell & Cole, 1990; Duncan, 1990; Duncan & Hasbrook, 1988; Kane, 1995; Kane & Snyder, 1989).

The inherently divisive nature of online commentary in social media, particularly on the blogosphere (Malloy, 2006), is yet another factor that serves to foster everyday misogyny and overt sexism. Most media messages are inherently masculine, and these messages are often strategically coded to feed off of socialized gender norms in an effort to create a homogenous audience, which is harnessed to increase profits (Strutt & Hissey, 1992; Theberge & Cronk, 1986; Tuchman, 1978). In this sense, sports media protect their financial interests by reinforcing socialized structures such as masculinity, objectification, and the male gaze. In addition to the pressure of hegemonic social norms, there also exists an “etiquette” of following the norms of the blog or forum in online commentary (Boicu, 2011). Therefore, if blog culture steeped in masculine hegemony, blog users are more likely to adhere to this hegemonically constructed mentality, at least within the confines of the blog.

Exploring the intersection of masculinity and the political-economy of sexualized representations of women on sports talk radio, Nylund (2007) describes a world where hegemonic masculinity is constructed through a “hierarchy of manliness.” Nylund explains how the advertising industry manipulates these social constructs to increase profits, a process summed up as the “high holy trinity of alcohol, sports, and hegemonic masculinity” (Wenner, 1998, p. 52). Further, Messner, Duncan, and Jensen (1988) argue that the world of sports (media included) represents a “homosocial sphere” (p. 121) that serves to reinforce gender differences and further marginalize women in the sports and sports media world.

Objectification

All of the blogs presented Sainz as a sexually desirable woman. Many of the blogs included galleries of photos taken only from the rear or edited photos that included gratuitous close-ups. One such gallery was accessed using a hyperlink that read, “Hot pictures of sports reporter with incredible butt” (Isaac, 2010). It is worth noting that these galleries also included images taken from Sainz’s personal website, which includes photos from professionally produced shoots for swimsuit calendars and sexualized images intended for male audiences. However, often pictures were taken out of context and accompanied (read: primed) with headlines such as “Jets Are In Trouble For Sexually Harassing Mexican Ass Sensation Ines Sainz” (elpresidente, 2010). These headlines served to objectify Sainz by labeling her first as a “Mexican Ass Sensation” and only mentioning her by name after using such descriptors. Surprisingly, this use of objectification in the headlines and leads of stories was not found exclusively on the blogs but spilled over into the mainstream media as well, with one New York Post headline reading, “Jets Flagged Making Passes at Hot Reporter” (Hubbuch & Greene, 2010).

Several blog posts cited Sainz’s physical features as the catalyst, justifying the Jets’ behavior by explaining “as a man you just can’t sit back and not react to an ass like this.” (elpresidente, 2010) In response to this post, one commenter explained that “hot women should not be allowed in the locker room. Wait outside for the interview or get your sexy-self harassed, plain and simple. Send in your unattractive assistant to get the scoop, crises averted.” (SteveDave, 2010) Another commenter wrote, “She covers soccer, basketball, and American football,” adding sarcastically, “her shirts cover significantly less.” (rulesboy, 2010) By repeatedly emphasizing Sainz’s physical appearance while de-emphasizing other attributes, both comments demonstrate the extent to which hegemonically constructed beauty ideals and the male gaze combine to reinforce the objectification of women in the workplace, a process that creates a slippery slope leading to harassment or worse.

Further demonstrating the pervasive nature of objectification present on several of the blogs covered, Barstool Sports includes several daily photo features including “Wake up With” (in which sexualized images of a chosen celebrity are culled from the internet and posted in a single gallery) and “Guess that Ass” (in which readers guess, based only on a single cropped image of the woman’s rear, who she is). Sainz was featured on a segment of “Guess that Ass” months before the controversy broke, indicating her status among sports bloggers and readers as a sex object first and a reporter second. Speaking to this notion of objectification among female sports reporters, one blog creator, when interviewed, attested, “Yeah, she’s a sex object. She wouldn’t have been hired if she wasn’t.”

In addition to comments focused on Sainz’s appearance, some commenters made remarks about her Latina heritage. “Slapshot21” quipped, “Does anyone recall the Spanish term for ‘plushilicious’?”, whereas “Shut up, Dorn” was more ascerbic: “She looks like 90% of the middle aged Latin women in my neighborhood. Tight jeans that seems to be 1 size too small, lots of mileage on the face. I wonder if she runs a diner on her off-time.” Although such comments were far in the minority, they still demonstrated that Sainz was disrespected and discredited both as a woman and as a Latina. These comments reveal both sexual and racial hegemonies present in the realm of sports broadcasting. As Brooks (2010) discussed, women of color are often paradoxically hypersexualized, yet critiqued more harshly upon their appearance than are their White counterparts. The commenters’ remarks were, consistent with Brooks’ discussion, either very sexual but “complimentary” (remarking that Sainz was attractive, etc.); or they were derogatory and equated her appearance with her heritage. In either example, the commenters’ assessment of Sainz’s attractiveness were clearly influenced by the knowledge that she is Mexican.

Objectification based on these constructed ideals is also consistent with the first person account of at least one broadcaster who has already successfully navigated these hegemonically constructed barriers to entry in the profession. As the cover model for the July 1981 issue of Playboy, Jayne Kennedy (the first African American woman to host the NFL Today) recalls an editor telling her “we don’t use blacks” (personal interview, 2011). Although there was no question that the magazine “used” African Americans within the pages of the magazine (a placement Ms. Kennedy was not interested in), the magazine had never given the cover to a woman of color, a position still predominantly reserved for Caucasian women meeting the magazine’s dominant beauty ideals.

Facing similar obstacles Kennedy recalls a conversation with a friend before interviewing for the NFL Today position: “He said, ‘Jayne, your beauty is intimidating to men. They don’t know how to talk to you because you also command respect and that throws them off. So the best thing for you to do is to show them that you can just be yourself. Just be the Jayne next door. Just be the friend I know. Just be yourself. Then when they are comfortable with you the world is yours.’ And that is what I did.”

Credibility

There was a general consensus among bloggers, commenters, and participants that Ines Sainz was unprofessional and lacked credibility. There was also agreement that the controversy further damaged Sainz’s credibility. However, it is important to note that several of the participants who were interviewed had already formed opinions of Sainz before the Jets controversy.

One of the primary reasons cited for Sainz’s lack of credibility was her sensationalized, sexualized, and trivial reporting style. As discussed in the literature review, professionalism and qualification (Brann & Himes, 2010) are significant aspects of credibility—qualities that Sainz seemed to lack in the eyes of the bloggers. According to one participant, “She wrote an article about which football players have stronger arms. No other reporters write about that. And there is a photo of her being carried through the field by two football players . . . You lose all credibility.” Some blog articles and comments compared Sainz to Erin Andrews, who was involved in a similar controversy in 2009. However, most commenters assessed Erin Andrews as more credible than Sainz. One blogger asked, “Is [Sainz] really trying to be a sports reporter? [She] isn’t half the reporter that [Erin] Andrews is.” Similarly, another interview subject said that, “Erin Andrews didn’t get where she [is] on her looks. . .she [worked] for it.”

Some incidents that participants cited included a story in which Sainz measured the biceps of players’ arms; as well as a Super Bowl interview in which Sainz, dressed up in a wedding gown, proposed to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. However, there was a noticeable difference between the willingness of the professional broadcasters and bloggers to assign blame to Sainz. Although many industry professionals did not assign blame to Sainz due to her perceived lack of credibility, blog readers, and bloggers themselves were eager to cast Sainz as someone who “had it coming.”

Another factor that significantly contributed to Sainz’s perceived lack of credibility was her physical appearance. Although Sainz’s allegedly provocative clothing may have been chosen in an attempt to appeal to male viewers, it was also seen as a sign of her lack of professionalism. One blogger asserted that Sainz should have expected the possible reactions of the football players when she dressed provocatively in the locker room. One participant agreed, “She deserved [it]. She walked around on the field in VERY tight clothing. . . you walk into a locker room of numbers of guys, wearing tight clothing. What do you expect!” Likewise, another participant suggested, “Her clothes might be more risqué then what you would see some serious news people doing.”

In addition to Sainz’s physical appearance at the time of the incident, the existing images published of Sainz’s appearance also make her appear less credible. Most of the images published on the blogs were from prior to the Jets controversy, and largely showed Sainz in revealing clothing or posing as a swimsuit model. One participant explained, “Because sports is an entertainment industry . . . they are not only presenting information, they are also presenting an image,” indicating that physical appearance may be as salient to the presentation of credible information as the actual information content. Demonstrating the often paradoxical nature of credibility and beauty ideals in broadcast television, one blog commenter stated, “If you want to be treated like a professional, dress like one. If you wanted to be treated like a woman in a see-through shirt with your bra showing, dress like that.” (2Hot4Tebow, 2010) These statements suggest that the appearance and attire of female sports reporters are taken seriously by some audience members, who connect a conservative professional appearance with credibility. Indeed, beauty ideals significantly influenced some audience members’ attitudes of Sainz’s credibility, leading some to go so far as to assess her appearance as that of a “whore.”

Overall, the consensus was that Sainz’s credibility was influenced by her appearance and other factors, such as her reporting prowess (or lack thereof). When asked how credibility is established in broadcasting, a current broadcast journalism student and aspiring female sports reporter asserted, “It’s the final product that’s important.”

Attention Seeking

The blog posts and comments that were analyzed also addressed the notion that Ines Sainz is an attention seeker, with interviews reinforcing this theme. Both the blogs and the interviews suggested that Sainz is an attention seeker not only because of her previous actions and conduct (i.e., measuring the biceps of NFL players, being carried around on NFL players’ shoulders, and photos of Sainz in a bathing suit) but also because of the way she presented herself on the day the controversy occurred. Finally, the attention seeking theme was identified in postings regarding the manner in which Sainz handled the controversy.

In the blogosphere, Sainz’s physical presentation alone was reason enough to call her an attention seeker. For example, one blog post simply read, “Chick has a killer ass. She knows it. She wants attention.” (elpresidente, 2010). Sainz’s choice of clothing was frequently cited as rationale for labeling her an attention seeker. For instance, one guest writer implied that although women complain about sexual attention they receive, they ultimately crave it, and they dress themselves to receive this attention (Schmoldt, 2010). Considering that this blog post was written about the Ines Sainz controversy, this post implicitly suggests that Sainz dressed for the sole purpose of gaining attention. Another blog post read: “Everything about the way she dress [sic] screams . . . I want every guy in here to stop what they’re doing and pay attention to me.” (elpresidente, 2010)

Many who commented on the postings regarding the Sainz controversy referred to her as an “attention whore.” One blog reader commented, “She’s an attention whore. If you’re that ‘embarrassed’, stop going on TV and talking about it and stop putting bikini pics of yourself on the internet.” (Wolf, 2010) Most participants reinforced this same notion, with one notably stating, “I definitely think she was out there to get attention. I mean, of all the other reporters, no one has done that. No one has been carried off the field by football players.” Further emphasis on Sainz’s attention-seeking behavior was demonstrated by a variety of comments including one notable response that read: “Look at the pictures you post of yourself on the internet. Look at the clothes you wear . . . looking for publicity I’m sure.” (harderfasterstronger, 2010)

Some blog posts that were analyzed viewed the way Sainz handled the controversy as that of an attention seeker. For instance, one blog post addressed the fact that Sainz did not agree to an interview with the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM), but instead was “readily available for interviews on television” (Petchesky, 2010), signaling that she wanted to be in the spotlight, but was not willing to use her situation to advocate change for women in her field. This idea was further elucidated by blog posts that addressed the notion that Sainz did not do one of the two things a person who was not seeking fame would do: use the situation to make a positive change for female sports journalists or discourage media attention all together (Carmichael, 2010).

Blame Assignment and Responsibility

The degree of blame placed on the Jets organization fell into two camps. The first was that Sainz was not “asking for it” and the Jets’ behavior should not be condoned. This camp paled in comparison to the second narrative, which suggested that while the Jets did not conduct themselves ideally, there were many possible explanations (or excuses) for their behavior. Interestingly, many bloggers, commenters, and participants were conflicted on the issue and simultaneously fell into both categories of thought.

The so-called “she was asking for it” argument was sharply derided by some bloggers and commenters, calling the defense “disgusting” and “despicable.” In response to arguments that the Jets viewed Sainz as an interloper (because she was both female and Mexican), one blogger stated that a lack of respect was still not a valid excuse for the Jets’ behavior and that “female reporters should not be treated as anything more or less than simply reporters.” (Petchesky, 2010) However, few commenters came directly to Sainz’s defense, instead stating that women in general should not be treated as she was.

The more prevalent attitude was that the Jets’ behavior and remarks, although in poor taste, were a product of their saturation in a male-dominated atmosphere. One commenter stated that professional behavior cannot and should not be expected in a locker room (skahammer, 2010). One of the Deadspin pieces, written by a former NFL athlete, detailed the sensation of “campdick,” in which male athletes spend a prolonged period of time with only male peers and forget how to interact with a woman in a professional sphere (Jackson, 2010). This blogger stated that in the locker room, “A different moral and social code applies . . . Ines Sainz was not harassed. Her beauty embarrassed these men.”

In addition, both bloggers and commenters seemed to have trouble taking the incident seriously, assessing Sainz’s harassment as not “severe” enough to warrant concern. One commenter stated, “The Jets were just joking around. It’s not like they slapped her on the ass and were smacking her with their wangs.” (Wolf, 2010) One of the participants also described the Jets’ attitude toward publicity: “The Jets kind of operate where you can go to the media and say whatever you want, you can do whatever you want. A lot of their players get in trouble and they’re playing the next week, so the Jets kind of do have an organized chaos going on.” This comment frames the incident as being nothing more than part of the Jets’ “shtick” and a harmless publicity stunt.

It is important to note that comments such as the above-quoted are not to be confused with sentiments that Sainz’s dress or reporting style somehow provoked her reaction. Rather, there is only acknowledgment that Sainz is attractive and a woman. These comments illustrate the sentiment that Sainz is relatively blameless but that “boys will be boys” and the Jets’ reaction was to be expected—not because Sainz baited them somehow, but because the players do not know how to behave themselves around an attractive professional woman. These comments also implied that the Jets did not mean any harm by their behavior and that, if anything, Sainz should be flattered by the attention.

Political/Sexual Economy of Bro Blogs

Between the lines of the typically chauvinistic blog posts and comments, several meta-narratives employed by the blogs’ creators and authors emerged. Chief among these was the active construction of a hegemonic masculinity used to commoditize audience members (Smythe, 1995) into a fairly homogenous demographic that is easily marketable to advertisers. One successful blog creator and author spoke directly and candidly to this notion of audience commoditization explaining that “we know who we are, we know who our audience is, and we know what they want.” It is relevant to note that the objectifying, and some may say offensive, comments made about Sainz were often played for humor, which is consistent with Messner, Duncan, and Cooky’s (2003) findings that women in sports and sports broadcasting were presented largely in a humorous light, if at all.

Based on the rapidly increasing advertising revenue pouring into sports blogs from corporate brands, it seems “what they [the audience] want” is what David Nylund (2007) refers to as “beer, babes, and balls.” Nylund describes how advertisers manipulate a socially and culturally constructed masculinity to turn a profit. Similarly, the analysis of the blogs covered in this study along with interviews of leading blog creators and authors suggests that sports blogs exert an increasing influence on the construction of this hegemonic masculinity (especially among younger demographics), and that one way in which this masculinity is constructed is through the socialized objectification of women and the male gaze.