Gender Roles
A look inside political cartoons
GENDER INEQUALITY IN SPORTS
Background:
Aside from pay, there are heavy stereotypes that misrepresent women in athletetics when compared to how men are publicized in the same industry. Women are commonly sexualized to represent the sporting industry. In many cases, men are portrayed as the common athletes, and women are either the cheerleaders or the sexualized “eye candy” to represent the industry. In addition, women are sometimes associated with weaker performances than men. The phrase, “you throw like a girl,” is a simple phrase that carries into how women are viewed by some in the industry as a whole, when truthfully they can perform just as well as men. Aside from these stereotypes, men take the lead for more sporting careers and scholarships. Women make up 43 percent of athletes and Male athletes receive 36 percent more scholarships dollars than female athletes do. Men also have substantially more job opportunities than women in sports. 16.9 percent of women are directors, 44 percent are head coaches of women, 2 percent are head coaches of men’s teams, and 27.8 percent are full-time athletic trainers (NCWGE, title IX). Cartoons tackle these issues on varying degrees but mostly by utilizing satire as to how women are poorly represented when they are just as capable as men. In addition, some cartoons bear the solemn truth of inequality through strong metaphors that reflect how society is.
Gender and Sociology - Boundless Open Textbook. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2016, from https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/gender-and-sexuality-15/gender-414/gender-and-sociology-296-12831/
Pay Equity & Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination
Team Member Name: Cassidy Long
Publication: Florida Today
Date: 03/05/2003
Cartoonist: Jeff Parker
U.S./International: US
Title of cartoon: Boys Sports V. Girls Sports
Cartoon #10
Tone of the cartoon:
1) Negative framing of the issue.
2) Framing is supportive to supporters of women’s sports.
3) Framing is opposed to opponents of women’s sports.
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
The action taking place is that men are celebrated more for their accomplishments in sports than women are. In the cartoon we see a man surrounded by trophies and awards for accomplishments and wearing a Leatherman jacket, beside him we see a woman holding a single trophy.
Which side is supported by the framing of the cartoon?
The cartoon takes the side supporting men’s athletics by showing all the benefits men’s athletics receive
What evidence can you give that the cartoon supports one side or the other?
Created in 1972, Title IX was put into effect to protect individuals from discrimination based on gender in school programs or any programs that receive money from the federal government (Title IX, 2015).
What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue?
The reality of this cartoon is that men’s athletics get more attention and more benefits than women’s athletics. Making a statement that there is inequality in sports.
Analysis: There is quite a bit of labeling in this cartoon, starting with the caption on the bottom stating “Big Man on Campus”. Among that are trophies surrounding the boy in a Leatherman jacket that states “High School Boy’s Athletics”. These trophies state things such as “state of the art facilities”, “better chance of Athletic scholarships”, and others. While on the other hand, there is a woman standing with a jersey wearing the words “girl’s athletics”, she is holding a single trophy with the plaque stating “Doesn't throw like a girl.”
Exaggeration also plays a role in this cartoon. first there is a woman who is quite thin and appears to be wearing makeup, the way her eyes are portrayed she looks a little dumbfounded. Whereas, the man on the other side appears to be quite heftier than the woman he seems to be closing his eyes and waving his hand as if to protrude arrogance.
This Cartoon uses analogy to compare and contrast the differences between men's and women's athletics. The cartoonist puts heavy comparison on men's athletics then women's
Resourses:
Title IX and Sex Discrimination. (2015, April 29). Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html
Parker, J. (2003, March 5). CagleCartoons.com - View Image. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.caglecartoons.com/viewimage.asp?ID={0A75BE57-8FF4-404F-8243-9EA7ADA5DCF6}
Team Member Name: Ryan Taylor
Publication: Mother Goose and Grimm
Date: 5/15/2013
Cartoonist: Mike Peters
U.S./International: U.S
Title of cartoon: “744 Months in a Row”
Cartoon #11
Tone of the cartoon: Satirical
1) Negative framing of the issue, but in a light comical manner.
2) Framing is supportive of equal treatment for women in the sporting industry.
3) Framing is opposed to the misrepresentation of women in the sporting industry.
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
Wheaties have been featuring celebrated athletes on their boxes since 1934. There isn’t a specific statistic on how many women have been featured, but most of the athletes that have been featured on the boxes have been males ranging anywhere from Troy Aikman to Bruce Jenner. (Roderick,A) In the cartoon Mother Goose is excited that a girl was featured on the Wheaties box and says “the girls are almost catching up to you guys” referring to Grimms gender as a male. Grimm comically holds up a box of frosted flakes and says “744 months and he’s still on the cover” referring to tony the tiger. Grimm’s remark is comical and allows the reader to decipher what Mother Goose meant by what she said. The context of the cartoon is that women aren’t featured on Wheaties boxes as often as men, and this light comparison carries into how women are featured in the sporting industry in comparison to men.
Which side is supported by the framing of the cartoon?
The cartoon utilizes a strong metaphor and themes to support equal treatment for women in the sporting industry.
What evidence can you give that the cartoon supports one side or the other?
The metaphor of the Wheaties box is the most impactful evidence for the cartoon to support equal treatment for women. The Wheaties box represents how women aren’t featured as often as men in sports issues, news, and in the overall industry, when they perform just as well as men.
What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue?
The cartoonist wants us to accept a reality represented in the cartoon that is a reflection of how society really is. The cartoon reminds us that women are misrepresented in the sporting industry and aren’t featured as strongly as men are. The purpose of this reminder is to encourage stronger representation of strong female athletes that are deserving of the spotlight.
Analysis:
The light hearted cartoon holds a strong metaphor for the general reader. It encourages more representation of strong female athletes in the media. This is a valid point that the cartoon addresses. There are many strong female athletes that don’t get the media spotlight as much as male athletes, and other females that are sexualized as a representation of the sporting industry.
Resources:
Roderick, A. (n.d.). Athletes Who Have Appeared On Wheaties Boxes. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.ranker.com/list/athletes-who-have-appeared-on-wheaties-boxes/arthur-roderick?var=3
Mike Luckovich's Editorial Cartoons - Civil Rights Comics And Cartoons | The Cartoonist Group. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2016, from http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/subject/The-Civil Rights-Comics-and-Cartoons-by-Mike Luckovich's Editorial Cartoons.php
Team Member Name: Glennon Petersen
Publication Bizarro Cartoons
Date: 11/17/2013
Cartoonist: Dan Piraro
U.S.
Title of cartoon: ”Track Meet”
Cartoon #12
Tone of the cartoon:
1) Negative framing of the issue – making the woman seem inferior to the mummy
2) Framing is opposed to supporters – shows that women can’t overcome very minor and obsolete obstacles, even dead people.
3) Framing is supportive to opponents – The framing of this cartoon is centered around making the woman look bad, but the mummy (most likely a man) look good.
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
Basically, it is a young woman running from a mummy in a track race, while an older gentleman is commentating over it. The context is the woman appears to be running her heart out, trying her best to beat the mummy, but since she is a woman the mummy is quickly gaining on her. The commentator is more focused on the faults that the mummy is possessing, which allows him to assume that the woman is inferior to the mummy in the race.
What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue?
The cartoonist wants readers to believe that woman aren’t capable of outrunning competitors, even dead ones. Dan provokes his female readers by saying that they can’t outrun even the seemingly “impossible to lose against” opponents. I guess what the artist is trying to get the reader to believe is that women's sports aren't really worth watching because they're so easily over come by emotion or even 'mummies' (Atlantic, 2015).
Analysis: Overall, the symbolism in this cartoon don’t really stand out to the average reader. One that I did see was that use of the negative points that the commentator displayed when talking about a mummy, really portraying a losing situation for the young woman in the race.
Resources: Bodenner, C. (2015, June 9). Why Aren't Women's Sports as Big as Men's? Your Thoughts. Retrieved March 31, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/women-and-sports-world-cup-soccer/395231/
Team Member Name: Kaiti Guiver
Publication: Politicalcartoons.com
Date: 08/18/2014
Cartoonist: Taylor Jones
U.S./International: U.S.
Title of cartoon: Little League Phenom Mo’ne Davis
Cartoon #13
Tone of the cartoon: Inspirational
1) Positive framing of gender equality.
2) Framing is supportive to supporters of gender equality.
3) Framing is opposed to opponents of gender equality.
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
As stated in the title, the drawing is of Mo’ne Davis, who is famous for being one of the best (if not the best) Little League players her age. She is a 13 year old girl from Pennsylvania and is the first girl to throw a shutout in the Little League Series (Wallace, 2014). She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for “her prowess in a man’s sport,” (CNN, 2014). Since she’s known for her powerful pitches, the cartoon purposefully places the literal symbol for females in her pitching hand. This is significant because it has an equality sign on it, proving that she can throw just as well as a man and that women definitely have an equal place in sports.
Which side is supported by the framing of the cartoon?
It is supporting the women’s side, a.k.a. Female equality.
What evidence can you give that the cartoon supports one side or the other?
The side for female equality is shown simply by the background of who Mo’ne is and what she has done in sports, and by the female symbol that she’s about to pitch into the playing field.
What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue?
The cartoonist is telling us that Mo’ne Davis is any man’s equal, and that women can be just as good as men in sports - if not better. The stereotypes that baseball is a man’s sport need to be rid of, as athlete Mo’ne Davis comes through and pitches that stereotype out of the ballpark.
Analysis: This cartoon uses a real life person, Mo’ne Davis, to depict pro-equality for women in sports. The symbolism is significant because her pitches are powerful and instead of holding a baseball, Mo’ne is holding the female symbol, therefore implying that female athletes are powerful. These signs were cleverly communicated through the cartoon to clearly suggest the power of women and an abolishment of gender inequality in sports today.
Resources:
Jones, T. (2014, August 18). Cagle Cartoons. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.caglecartoons.com/viewimage.asp?ID={33C51EAB-B68B-41FA-87CE-73C8B03DCAEB}
Wallace, K. (2014, August 20). Baseball sensation Mo'ne Davis' impact on girls and boys. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/living/mone-davis-baseball-sensation-impact-girls-parents/index.html