http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=8437509&ch=207399&src=sports
Hi Friends & Fellow Summer People Who Gather Uneccessarily on Our Own Free Will at around 230pm on Mondays & Wednesdays for ""Talks"
Please view the clip at the link above and share some insight with us about how men's and women's sports are reported on and discussed differently. What does Parker's amazing shot mean in light of these gender differences? Are you an athlete? What's your sport(s)? What's a good speech topic having to do with sports and gender? Remember to go on your group outings instead of attending a "chat" in the classroom this Wednesday! Smiles--Your Tour Guide Sandra
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25 comments:
I see sports could be a gender issue because males has been in "warrior" through out the history. What if women were "warriors?" through out the history? Then, MNBA would exist? And sport would be for females? And I am not an athlete. I like to watch sports. I like to watch Soccer, Basketball, Football, and Tennis. However, I don't have my "favorite" team.
- Min Sohn
I've noticed that during the ten or eleven a clock news, womens sports aren't the main focus when the sports news comes on. Maybe it's society's implication that women are not aggressive. For me, I have played water polo and let me tell you, it's rough, women can be aggressive. I think that as a society we want to think that we support womens sports, but does any body know the main WNBA star's names? I don't know their names, I know names of some NBA stars such as Koby Bryant and Mike Bibby.I don't even watch basketball and I've heard people talk about these NBA stars, but not so much the WNBA.
EMILY MANSKE
I don't follow any sports, just don't have anytime. But it is a good step forward for the female athletes. As we've seen before females just started to be recognized for their abilities in sports. So we only hope for the best because females are not only nurturers but warriors as well.
Tatyana Gidenko
I honestly dont know much about any sport. I won't watch them unless some one else is watching it. But, even as a semi-anti-sports fan I can say men have more exposer than women.
I honestly dont know any female athletes by name, besides Venus and Serena wiliams. I dont even know when the WMBA season starts. I can name plenty of male athletes[mike bibby, allen iverson, tiger woods, shaq o'neal, mike jordan, dawayn wade, regiie bush]...and the list goes on.
I guess men athletes get the spot light because, society rather watch men play the "gender role", and be an athletic figure. I mean woman sports is like a joke.
well i dont know dont ask me i dont keep up with it all...
=]Charlene Eaton[=
I noticed in the video clip of when one of the basketball players made a slam dunk shot. The news interviewed a african american guy who shared his thought on the slam dunk made by one of the basketball players. He thought the slam dunk was not as great like Micheal Jordan. It seem as if a women basketball player will never be on the same level as a male basketball player. Usually the news covers in details of men sports compared to women sports. It goes to say that men are always seen as superior to women. Parker's amazing shot mean that women are capable of achieving challenging obstacles in life. I think a good speech topic would the equality and inequality of gender differences in sports.
-Linh Phan
I think this has always been an issue. Men have dominated sports until the turn of the century when women started to get the right to vote throughout the world. Women have penetrated the sports industry but, there still remains a stigma. Certain sports are associated with women such as figure skating or gymnastics...This could be a great speech topic, one could show how women still today are discriminated upon in sports.
-Terence Kelley
Due to gender differences, Parker's amazing shot is not considered amazing to the sports watchers. The man at the end of the clip proved the point that gender does make a difference in sports where he said "he liked Michael Jordan better". Eventhough i'm not a sports fan, I notice that men's sports have always been more popular than women's, as of being reported and discussed more frequently. Women's sports are mentioned only when something extraordinary happened. It'd be great if we had a speech on how women's potential and achievements in sports should be recognized as well as men's.
~TRINH HUYNH~
"...and this doesn't happen very often...a DUNK in a WNBA game" said the male reporter. His tone lets us know the low expectation in women's sports. It's reasonable to say that men's sports are more popular as they have been there for a very long time historically. Also, men's sports are more credited as the men are stronger. You might call it discrimination or stereotype, yet it is an undeniable reality. I used to play sport for a while (of course, when I was young!) and we did look down on the women's swimming team even though they beat us all the time. I think a good speech topic regarding sport-gender would be "women-a new source of energy" as this will draw more attention to women's sports.
TUNG LE
It is easy to see that male sports activities are given much more focus and credit than female sports. This is not to say that the female athletes are not as good as some of the males. Women have faced much more opposition in the male dominated sports community since sports are seen more as a sign of masculinity. Because of that link to masculinity sports are often veiwed more by men than woman. Unless the female sport is in some way sexually appealing to men you don't find men watching it. With the lack of ratings you see a lack of profits and a limit is placed on the ability for the female sports community to grow. If you viewed any of the other video clips you'll see that all the male video clips are more indepth significantly longer and of much higher quality. This suggest that less attention and money is spent on covering the female events. It isn't uncommon for high school males to have the ability to dunk a basketball, yet in the WNBA this is a major accomplishment. I mayself have always been and still remain an athlete. I've seen some of the trouble women face in being recognized for their achevements, even now it streches much farther than just in the sports community.
-Greg Gurganus
I've noticed that women's sports are not broadcasted as much as men's sports. After watching the clip of Candace Parker making a rare dunk in the WNBA, even with its rarity the enthusiasm of the dunk made wasn't as enthusiastic as when when the ones made by the males (which we see almost all the time in a basketball game). Also, WNBA stars are not recognized as much as NBA stars; people that are not even interested in sports will know who Michael Jordan is but not many will know of a WNBA player. I think this may be because we live in a society where it is male dominated -- we see the males being more of the dominant "aggressive" type and society does not see females are being "aggressive" but more of the ones follow the men.
~Yuri Kim
After viewing the clip of Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker, as well as being a frequent ESPN viewer, I noticed that the emphasis and the enthusiasm in the broadcasters' presentation of sporting events are much greater in male competition than that of female competition. Usually, dunks are THE highlights of a basketball game aside from the recognition of great defensive plays and the excitement of the closing minutes to a close game. I remember seeing various dunks, made by male athletes for both the NCAA and NBA, in the highlight reals of ESPN's SportsCenter where broadcasters were very enthusiastic and excited in each highlight. As for the clip of Parker, the very first broadcaster presenting Parker's dunk did not sound excited at all. Later on another broadcaster, compared it to the dunk of the all-time great NBA player, Michael Jordan. In my opinion, I think these two broadcasters reporting the dunk made by Parker were dull, negligent and disrespectful. In light of the gender differences, and despite the fact that it is uncommon for a women to dunk in basketball games, Parker's dunk is a start of a trend. The trend of women athletes being capable of doing what men athletes do. Parker mentioned herself that the all-time great WNBA all-star, Lisa Leslie, made a dunk in the same arena in previous years.
Like Tung mentioned, historically, men's sports have been around much longer than that of women's. In this day and age, many sports for women are uprising. Gradually, women athletes are slowly getting the attention from the media. However, to get to the level that the men have will take some time, especially with basketball. Reason why I say this is because the WNBA is still a recent thing that started not too long ago. There is at least a 50 year gap between the NBA and WNBA. The popularity of each takes time to progress. Since the NBA has been around much longer, the popularity of the sport has grew onto the general population while the WNBA is building the popularity.
I am an athlete. I enjoy playing almost any sport, but mainly in basketball, tennis and football. I think a good speech topic having to do with sports and gender would be how sports for both genders have progressed and what we could expect in the future with what we currently know, what we have seen, and what currently exists.
- Jonathan Chao
Women's and en's sports are definitely reported on differently because women are generally seen as weaker than men. Especially in sports like basketball, women are shorter than men also so it's not often that we see a woman dunk. The WNBA season is also about half the length of the NBA season and a lot less people attend the games, maybe because it's seen as "less exciting". I used to play basketball and volleyball and run track, but I stopped in high school when I started getting busier with school and work.
-Ariana
Hey! I am very much into Basketball, but for some reason I only follow Mens Basketball. I have tried to follow WNBA it seems like not everyone is into them and it just seems less important to care for. Lakers is my favorite team and I think Kobe Bryant is the best player ever, although they lost at the final this year..sad!... I like playing basketball and volley ball. Maybe if WNBA is promoted more like MNBA, society will know more about them and get more into it. Go Lakers!
Visha Prakash
I think male athletes get more media exposure than female athletes, it's always been like that. That get more endorsments, they also are paid a great deal more than female athletes.Male athletes conduct themselves in outrageous behavior that is tolerated where female athletes are subjected to a double standard. I was in to sports as a young women but I faced much rejection, and therefore as a result opportunities were limited.
LeeAnne Alvarado
Men's and women's sports are definetly reported on differently. I remember when the US women's soccer team were playing in the World Cup last year and The Sacramento Bee would write like 2 lines on who scored. Yet, football and basketball reporting takes up full pages. Jonathon is right- Parker's shot reflects a trend of women catching up with men in sports. Media should start reflecting that and I don't think the coverage of Parker's dunk was adequate.
I am an avid sports-player, soccer in particular. A good speech topic might be to pick a sport and talk about how female participation and media in that sport has changed.
Kimberly Nielsen
I didn't get to watch the clip clearly but from what I was able to hear and see--women's sports report are reported with less enthusiastic and excitement from the reporters and the media. Parker's slam dunk was good but not breath-taking or with much "aww" of surprise but this means that women can play just as good as men can too. They mention it was good for her career and the way she slam dunk with one hand was something amazing but still in comparison to Michael Jordan it was nothing. Although I'm not into sports as much--I think that it's not fair how society looks at women in anything--whether it may be in sports or a career. And I do agree with Emily--that nobody really knows the WMBA players' names like how they know the NBA players. A good speech topic having to do with sports and gender would be "Women's success in sports today compares with the past".
PAHOUA KHANG
I would like to say that I RARELY watch sports and I'm not an athlete at all, so I don't know much about it (haha). The only time I've watched sports is during the NBA playoffs and finals, but about that's it. I don't think I've even seen a WNBA game to be honest. I believe in today's society, sports is male dominated. Female sports are not the center focus in the media, so I don't think Parker's dunk was that publicized. If we didn't have this blog, I wouldn't have known. However, I thought it was pretty cool that another woman dunked!
-Susan Pham =D
In the news men's sports such as basketball and football get the majority of the air time when reported on. Usually women's sports are only recapped and are not the main focus during sport news. Parker's amazing dunk is a slap in the face of those who believe that women can't do the same things as men do in sports because 20 years ago there wasn't even the WNBA and no one ever dreamed that a woman could dunk the ball in a game. I like how the guy at the end of the news story compared Parker's dunk to Michael Jordan because that shows that he thinks of women and men as equal on the basketball court.
I actually play a lot of basketball myself and so I truly appreciate and understand the difficulty of the amazing dunk that Parker did. I know I can't dunk and so I have a lot of respect for her. I also just started playing tennis and I am absolutely loving every minute of it. It's lots of fun and can get quite competitive. Other than that I just dabble in other random sports such as bowling, soccer, a little bit of football, badminton, table tennis, and etc.
I think a good topic for a speech with gender and sports would be the difference between male and female atheletes in terms of how much they get paid and the amount of endorsements they get offered.
- Daniel Nguyen (COMM 301)
I notice that the male reporter was not excited about Parker's shot. He used his monotone to report the truth, unlike other reporters in men's sports who would shout and wow a slam dunk shot. Even when the news interviewed a guy to share his thoughts about Parker's shot, he responded that it was not as great as Michael Jordan's. Such comment makes me feel that women's sports do not seem to catch as much public attention as men's sports do. It appears to me that men do not expect women to perform as great as men in sports, so they always compare women's performances with male athletes and make indifferent remarks about female athletes' achievements.
I am not an athlete. In fact, I am not a big fan of sports, but I love to watch Olympic and World Cup. I think a good speech topic dealing with gender and sports would be "Some sports, like football, do not have any female team. Why is this so? Are there any sport dominated by females"
I-Hsuan (Ally) Hsu
Ah,women in sports. That ever-so-touchy subject. It seems to me that everyone wants to talk about it and no one wants to address it. Everyone has an opinion, but no one wants to say it. Stigmas and stereotypes concerning women and sports (professional or otherwise) has always been a heated debate between both genders, on both sides. In my personal opinion, I believe women are just as capable of competing at a professional level, and just as well, as men. Look at Parker! Really, how many men can jump like that?! Because we are innately built differently, I do think that women and men are more adaptable to certain sports, each gender has different strengths, proof? Good essay topic! Unfortunately I was born with the absolute worst hand-eye coordination and have had to resign myself to a life of individual/non-contact sports...I am a gymnast.
--Rachel Montgomery
Wow! It's good to see women athletics representing! Parker's dunk was great. It shows that women are as good and capable of performing in sports as men are.
I am not an athletic but I did play soccer in high school. I think that there are a lot of good topics to talk about that has to do with sports and gender. One that I would like to point out is surfing. That sport is very dangerous but challenging no matter how strong you are mentally and physically.
---zOey Pha----
I think that sporting events in the US are very male-dominated and male-oriented. There is always more focus on men, I think, because it is exciting to see "alpha males" fighting it out to see who the “best” is. Parker's amazing dunk shows people that men are not the only ones that can slam dunk and that they can do whatever men can. The reporting of the slam dunk kinda offended me in that the commentator showed no happiness or emotion in his voice as if it was not a big deal. He could have been more enthusiastic about it. I have watched a lot of basketball in last couple of years and it was very strange to me that Sacramento, a city that was famous for its fans, were more into the Kings going to the playoffs than the Monarchs actually winning the championship! I played tennis since when I was young til the end of my senior year in high school. I loved playing and I love watching it on tv anytime its on. I think that a good speech topic on sports and gender would be about how the media concentrates on males and puts females secondary.
Tiffany Nguyen
I feel that a good topic for this situation is why are women judged in sports?Why people think women can have the same ablitiy as men when it comes to a dunk. My favorite sport is basketball and football, I used to play basketball in elementary school. My favorite basketball team is Kings and the Monarchs and my favorite football team is Raiders!
I feel that a good topic for this situation is why are women judged in sports?Why do people think women cant have the same ablitiy as men when it comes to a dunk. My favorite sport is basketball and football, I used to play basketball in elementary school. My favorite basketball team is Kings and the Monarchs and my favorite football team is Raiders!
One of the most exciting basketball players in NCAA history, Candace Parker led the lady Vols to a national title as a freshman sensation. Coached by the great Pat Summit at the University of Tennesse, she was the number one draft pick by the Los Angeles Sparks who also regained Lisa Leslie (the first Woman to dunk in WNBA history) after she returned from a baby last year. Candace Parker's new coach, Michael Cooper, contributed to 3 world championships for the Los Angeles Lakers with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabarr, Byron Scott and many others. His comments about Candance Parker's Dunk were not that it was not as good as Micheal Jordan's but rather that it was similar because it was with one hand. Cooper and Parker gave recognition to Lisa Leslie for being the first women to dunk.
While it is true that the WNBA does not share a major part of the market when it comes to revenue or viewing for the casual sportsfan. The WNBA has continued to grow and gain in popularity since its inception in 1996. If anybody would remember that there use to be two Women's basketball leagues and the WNBA merged with the ABL. To me it seems the growth of the WNBA is right on schedule adn that many people of this forum are quick to judge the WNBA and Women's sports as it not being succesful. Problems with the WNBA are not unfamiliar ones to other professional sports. MLS or Major league soccer has failed to establish a solid fan base in large cities that do not have a MLS team. The PLP or professional lacrosse league is the same. And most people will tell you that hockey is losing ground when it comes to their causal sports fans. All of these sports feature some of the world's best male athletes and no one is watching them either.
Women in sports have made great advances in recent years as well. Danica Partick is becoming a household name in Nascar. Many people prefer women's tennis to men's because of the long rallies and big names in the major events. The LPGA or Ladies pro golf association has major tournaments with well known players.
While leagues like the NFL, MLB, Nascar and NBA dominate the sports markets, there still is room for these other sports, including womens, to have a place the market. The four afforementioned sports have existed a lot longer than leagues like the WNBA. To ask them to compete for ratings and money in such an early point in their league's development is a hard thing.
The best part about Candace Parker's dunk is that it keeps the WNBA relevant and in the news. It sheds a light on the high level of competition that exists in the WNBA and makes the casual sport fan pay attention. Most of the country got to see how great of a player Candace Parker was going to be in the Nationaly televised NCAA championship and she is going to be a fantastic player for years to come.
Christopher Lee
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