Traditionally, the woman has been perceived to be a homemaker and a caretaker of the family. The role of women in society has been limited and constrained to the home. Yes, they are allowed to contribute to the development of the family, but at the family level. This makes it difficult for women to rise to positions of power and fame, whether in the political, economic or social spheres. And it gets even worse when this restrictions and barriers extend to the ambitions and talents of women. So speaking, one area such area under great controversy is sports. Sportswomen have always been given a second hand after the males. Whether it is regarding deals, opportunities to pay or compete against other teams, or even in exposure as far as sponsorship and branding are concerned. Rodriguez brings to light these issues in a logical manner that appeals to the reader both emotionally and ethically at the same time.
Ethically speaking, Rodriguez builds on the question of gender roles that seem to restrain women along with some boundaries and lines. One might think that with the rise of influential females in sports and teams, the women would face lesser of problems than they did back in the day. However, this is not true since male teams always take the leading row in recognition, and women only take the second slot. The reason why this is so, cannot be explicitly comprehended in one article, but this article regardless tries to explore the ideologies, stereotypes, and notions for this. One theory, in this case, is that society does not like to see people; whether male or female, go against the gender stereotypical norms. In this case, the woman is perceived as being sexy, feminine, curvy, graceful and weak (Rodriguez, 2013). Ethics hold that both sides of the spectrum deserve equal chances and should be judged by their capabilities, not gender.
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Most people believe women do not have the guts and the courage, and that even if they were to go into sports, it would be out of sheer excitement and do not have what it takes to turn their passion into a heated sport worth the attention and finances it demands. It is based on this notion that female athletes have trouble receiving equal pay when compared to the males, and have an equally hard time getting sponsorship deals because as most people hold. The result would not be as substantial as the male athletics is. Here the author does a good job in appealing to the emotions of the readers. She holds that it is demeaning to judge female athletes for their gender disposition.
The other sideline to this is the media exposure. The female athletes find it extremely difficult to get media exposure because athletes sell on appearances (Rodriguez, 2013). While almost naturally all male athletes are masculine with strong features, which is, precisely what athletics demand and as such are loved for that by the media, the woman has to be feminine, curvy and sexy to sell in the media. It is quite impossible to be all these when one is an athlete. Developing an athletic body does not sell for the media as it would sell for athletics, and female athletes find themselves thrown into this plunge of confusion because they are neither too ‘physically developed' and aggressive for athletes nor too sexy and curvy for the media. They are not accepted on either grounds. Logically reasoning, Rodriguez (203) uses the arguments of the blogger Andrea Adelson to point how the emphasis on beauty is held in high regards at the expense of sports or any other societal sphere for that matter. To this end, the media holds that good looks are more important to make it to the limelight than skills, and as such women in athletics are willing to show off some skin to gain recognition in front of the camera, because even though they may be talented and all, female athletes only gain popularity after their exposure in the media. That is just how it works for women in sports.
References
Rodriguez, A. (2013). Female athletes still face inequality. The Sundial . Retrieved from https://sundial.csun.edu/2013/09/female-athletes-still-face-inequality/
