From Athletes to Objects: A Narrative Review of Female Athlete Objectification Across Media Platforms

Abstract

The present study reviews the objectification and sexualization of female athletes on various media platform, namely print media, broadcast media, digital/ electronic media, advertising and commercial media. World -wide countries are encouraging youth to participate in sports, men and women alike. However, the media representation of female athletes is governed more by approaches of objectification and sexualization, compared to their male counterparts leading to detrimental effects on psychological and emotional well-being of the athletes. The current endeavor attempts to syntheses the existing literature on objectification of female athletes and to study their manifestations across various platforms and analyze emerging trends. A structured search of Scopus database was conducted to identify and examine peer-reviewed studies studying various aspects of female athlete objectification. Articles meeting pre-decided and defined eligibility criteria were included and synthesized using a thematic narrative approach. The results concluded that female athlete’s representation in various media platforms were made through lens of objectification and sexualization that led to self-objectification, body- dissatisfaction among female athletes and gender stereotyping and sexualization of female athletes among masses. The focus tends to shift from athletics abilities to physical appearances thereby perpetuating internalized stereotypes of commodification and limiting female usefulness strictly to beauty standards.