April 4, 2016
Sports sociologist on women's soccer, equal pay
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Cheryl Cooky |
Cheryl Cooky, a Purdue University associate professor of American studies, can talk about why women deserve equal pay in sports, especially women's soccer, as well as wage discrimination in general.
"Others have argued the economics side of supply and demand, which in the case of the women's national soccer team, just does not hold water," said Cooky. "The 2015 World Cup final was the most watched soccer game, men's or women's, in the United States, with almost 25 million viewers tuned in, garnering higher ratings than the NBA finals, the Stanley Cup finals and baseball's World Series. " (CONTACT: Cheryl Cooky, ccooky@purdue.edu)
Cooky, who is a sports sociologist, studies girls' and women's participation in sports, and gender images in media, and the connection between feminism and sports. She is president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.
Cooky also can discuss:
* The social contexts of advertising campaigns related to women and sports.
* Coverage of women's sports and how female athletes are featured.
* Gender disparities between leadership in athletics.
* Athletic participation and interest of young girls in urban and rural environments.
* Higher sports dropout rate for adolescent girls, as it relates to peer pressure and community expectations.
* How Title IX levels the playing field.
* The relationship between feminism and sports.
Cooky also is part of a team based at the University of Southern California that analyzes the amount and quality of media coverage for men's and women's sports.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
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