Sex sells, and international sport governing bodies are contributing to the sexualisation of world sport. It is blatant hypocrisy and exploitation.
Sport is at risk of becoming practiced pornography with increasing sexualisation, commercialisation, and commodification of athletes’ bodies. Sport governing federations and organisations must take a hard look at the trend towards adult entertainment and soft pornography.
More must be done to protect and safeguard athletes, in particular women and girls. This is not about being a prude. It is genuinely about the sexualisation and objectification of female athletes. Sport governing bodies are complicit. They are enablers of the problem as they chase the money.
In March 2017, the Internationl Olympic Committee (IOC) Gender Equality Review Project was launched through a joint initiative of the IOC’s Women in Sport and Athletes’ Commissions to carry out a comprehensive review of the current state of gender equality in the Olympic Movement. I had the privilege and honour of sitting on that working group, which was chaired by Marisol Casado.
This project resulted in 25 recommendations covering sport-related matters of participation, portrayal, and funding, and broader matters around the role and opportunities for women in organisational governance and the importance of inclusive organisational cultures.
The Gender Equality Review Project had a mandate to “push gender equality globally” and produce “action-oriented recommendations for change.” The Working Group was composed of IOC Members, National Olympic Committee (NOC), and Summer and Winter International Sport Federation (IF) representatives.
The recommendations were approved by the IOC Executive Board in February 2018. What has the IOC done about the issue of portrayal? The sexualisation and objectification of female athletes is not gender equality.
Sex sells, notwithstanding the negative impact on the athlete. Take the example of Allison Rebecca Stokke (born March 22, 1989), an American track and field athlete. She broke a number of American records for high school pole vaulting. Images of her at age 17 were widely shared on the Internet, resulting in her becoming an internet phenomenon. The attention affected her psychologically: she said that she found the leering “creepy and a little scary” and took care to lock doors behind her.
In their book Technology, Power and Culture in the Network Society, Brett Hutchins and David Rowe linked Stokke’s case with that of American soccer players Alex Morgan and Hope Solo, female athletes who saw their public image framed sexually, in a way that the authors said de-emphasised their sporting achievements. Regarding Stokke, they also observed that social media comments were frequently insulting in nature and that the commenters blamed the sexualisation process on the women themselves (Wikipedia).
What is the Olympic movement doing during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence? - An annual international campaign that runs from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day). The campaign addresses gender-based violence, including physical, sexual, and digital violence, and advocates for prevention and protection.
The digital world has become a tool of harassment, abuse, and control. AI is fuelling new forms of digital violence against women and girls.
Portrayal of female athletes is often sexualised, with the focus more on physical appearance than skill. This sexual objectification includes portrayals and images of athletes in sexually suggestive poses or clothing, which some athletes tolerate for popularity or sponsorship opportunities.
Truth be told, sports governing bodies are essential enablers - rules regarding uniform wear leave no doubt and nothing to the imagination. The choice is really no choice for the athlete. Skimpy, is it!
