Recently, I came across a campaign video on Facebook: #CoverTheAthlete. We talk, all the time, about women in entertainment who are sexualized and objectified in interviews and photos, but we don’t typically include female athletes in that conversation.
Here are a few of my favorite examples of the sexist questions female athletes are asked in interviews “about their game.”
1. The "Twirl" Interview
A Canadian tennis player, Eugenie Bouchard, was asked by an interviewer to "twirl," to show off her outfit.
We need to take a serious look at the gender difference between the interviewer and the interviewee. He is an older white male, asking a young female to "twirl" around to show off her clothing but also her body.
She had just won a tennis match and is an incredibly successful athlete. Ask her about her match or what got her to this point, not about her appearance.
She’s not an object. Remember that. Her value is not her body. She’s a powerful woman who also happens to be an incredibly successful athlete. That is what we should be talking about.
2. The "Justin Bieber" Interview
In a previous interview, one that a year before the "twirl" interview, Bouchard was asked, “If you could date anyone in the world, who would you date?” Her response? Justin Bieber.
This time, the interviewer was female, and she depicted a small amount of shame in asking this question, saying, “I’m sorry, they asked me to say this.”
Like in the previous example, Bouchard had just played a wonderful match. The media should be showing her the respect she deserves and asking her about the sport, her ability, her dedication, and her power, not about her personal or dating life.
Another thing we need to talk about? The audience reaction, or more importantly, whose reaction is televised. In both cases, the camera panned immediately to a group of young white men. In what I’m calling "The ‘Twirl’ Interview," the men were notably excited and cheering Bouchard on. In the second, they were booing her response. We can all come to our own conclusions as to why the audience responded in this way, but we need to be talking about it.
And when male athletes are asked the same question? Here’s their response.
“Can you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit?”
I think this picture is pretty self-explanatory. It’s pretty ridiculous to ask this question, isn’t it?
“If you could date anyone is the world… who would you date?
So why is it okay to ask them?
Male athletes are always asked about their game, but why aren’t women doing the same thing? Shouldn’t they be awarded the same courtesy? These people have all been dedicated to a sport for most of their lives. They just played a game, competed in a meet, or had a match. We should be asking them about their sport and their dedication to the sport they love, not their bodies or their hair. Those things don’t matter.
The biggest issue here? We don’t talk about the inequality surrounding sports interviews. And, we should be. Let's start talking about it and ask the media to #CoverTheAthlete.
