Prof: Despite historic MNF announcing crew, national coverage of women’s sports is lacking

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Beth Mowins this week became the first female lead announcer for Monday Night Football, but despite that milestone, the amount and tone of media coverage dedicated to women’s sports continues to lag behind.

A research team at the University of Southern California, which includes Purdue associate professor of American studies Cheryl Cooky, has tracked a quarter century of women’s sports coverage on local and national television broadcasts.

An overt attitude of sexism has mainly disappeared from coverage, but the problem has evolved into what the research team labels “gender bland sexism,” wherein the commentators present men’s and women’s sports coverage with different production values and energy.

The study, which examines local and national sports news highlight shows dating back to 1989, finds that current men’s sports coverage is presented in a highly produced, fast-paced, humorous and action-packed style whereas women’s sports coverage is presented in dull, lackluster ways that simply present the facts of the event.

While girls’ participation in high school sports has continually increased - from 294,000 about 45 years ago to 3.1 million this year - television coverage of women’s sports has remained stagnant and dull.

“Sports news commentators, through the colorful language, vocal intonations, replays and other visual techniques, present men’s sports in ways that highlight the excitement, suspense and interest of those events while presenting women’s sports in bland, lackluster ways,” Cooky said. “This is important because it conveys to audiences that women’s sports are less interesting, less exciting and, therefore, less worthy of watching.”

Cooky is an associate professor of American studies in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, which is housed in the College of Liberal Arts. She teaches courses on gender and sexuality in sport; gender in media and popular culture; sport in American culture; feminism in popular culture; and feminist theory and feminist methodologies. 

This research was funded by the University of Michigan's Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center, with support from the University of Southern California's Center for Feminist Research, the USC Annenberg School for Communication, and the Purdue University Office of the Provost. 

The USC news release can be found here. 

Media contact: Brian Peloza, 765-496-9711, bpeloza@purdue.edu 

Source: Cheryl Cooky, ccooky@purdue.edu