Coverage of women's sport suffering from '˜gender bland sexism'

Coverage of women's sports is peppered with 'disguised' sexism, according to new research.

Scotland's Erin Cuthbert during the Women's Euro 2017 Championships. Picture: SNS/Paul Devlin

The 25-year study suggests dull, lacklustre coverage makes female sports events seem less exciting than men’s – harming everything from women athletes’ salaries to ticket sales.

Researchers found new segments on women’s sport are shorter, include fewer interviews and less entertaining commentary.

And coverage of womens’ sports features matter-of-fact reactions which make female athletes seem less exciting, according to the research.

The team behind the study say the coverage equates to subtle sexism which is difficult to challenge but harms female sport.

Lead author Michela Musto, a doctoral student at the University of Southern California, said: “Sports news shows now disguise sexism in their ‘matter-of-fact’ reactions to women athletes’ performance, subtly sending viewers the message that women’s sports lack the excitement and interest of men’s sports.”

The study, published in Gender and Society Journal, was co-authored by Michael Messner, also from the University of Southern California, and Cheryl Cook, from Purdue University in Indiana,

Every five years beginning in 1989, they examined six weeks of sports news on three Los Angeles-based network affiliate stations and three weeks of ESPN’s SportsCenter.

The team found women’s sports coverage tended to be overtly sexist from 1989-1999, trivialising by linking women to their conventional roles as mothers, wives, and girlfriends from 1999-2009.

But now, based on the most recent data from 2014, coverage depicts women’s sports in a lacklustre manner, which the researchers call “gender bland sexism”.

The study revealed women’s sports coverage had less air time, entertaining language, interviews, in-game footage and compliments.

SportsCenter’s segments on men’s sports averaged two minutes and five seconds and stories about men’s sports on the local stations averaging 47 seconds. But women’s stories averaged one minute and 17 seconds on SportsCenter - nearly 50 per cent shorter.