2012 OLYMPICS: SEXUALIZATION OF BODIES

            The Olympics brings together the greatest female athletes of each nation (new to the 2012 Olympics) to compete in an international athletic competition. The events highlight the tremendous athletic abilities of women, but their very athletic bodies are put on display on a world stage. Men and women have different standards for what their athletic body should look like, and they must conform to these standards in order to be successful. The ideal feminine body is small, thin, toned, but not too muscular, while the masculine body is very muscular.

            This emphasized feminine body leads to the objection and sexualization of the female body. A prime example of this is the video “Bodies in Motion” which NBC put together to show their appreciation of the female athletes in the 2012 Olympics. The video was quickly taken down not long after it was put up because it appreciates the female anatomy much more than their athletic abilities. Erin Gloria Ryan said it best when she noted, NBC is too busy focusing on jiggling ladies' asses to notice ladies kicking ass.” The women’s athletic achievements were downplayed in the video by the heavy focus on their bodies and not their talent.
 
 
 
 
 
Fight Like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist by Megan Seely

“Patriarchy sets a tone for society—a tone that allows for the devaluing of women and our experiences and encourages the interpretation of society through male eyes."




            Another example of the high sexualization of women is ESPN’s annual Body Issue. It includes several members of Team USA but it is very sexist in the poses chosen for the men and women:

 
“over half of the female athletes were shown only as passive eye-candy while virtually all of the men were shown in action shots.
  • 78 percent of the photos of men depict an active pose, while only 52 percent of women’s do.
  • 90 percent of the male athletes had at least one active pose in the slideshow.
  • 46 percent of female athletes had at least one active pose in the slideshow.
Abby Wambach stated that she wanted “the shot to represent what we all are trying to capture here, and that’s just powerful, strong, athletic.” Her pictures were mostly action shots, which displayed her incredible athletic ability, but she is an exception. More than half of the female athletes didn’t have an action shot in their slideshow. They modeled their athletic bodies instead of using them in their pictures. The passive, model shots displayed the body as an object, while the active shots demonstrated the instrumental use of the athletic female body.



          
Another example of the sexualization of women in the 2012 Olympics was the debate about the women’s beach volleyball uniforms. Before, it was mandatory to wear bikinis but new regulations were put in place to respect cultural beliefs and to help protect against the colder weather of London. Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor debuted the full-body spandex suits at the 2012 Olympics. The bikinis attracted many people to the sport, projecting the players in a highly sexualized manner. The full body suits allowed the USA women full mobility and kept the focus on their athletic ability, not their body.