On Thursday 15th June, the news broke that the W Series had gone into administration.
But what was even more heartbreaking…
the news coverage.
The problem?
A term which describes the down playing of female athletes in comparison to men and the lacklustre presentation of women’s sport.
Gender Bland Sexism
The majority of articles sharing the W Series story had:
Zero opinions
Zero emotions
Zero insight
Yes, we want news, but we don’t want it regurgitated to us in 120 different ways.
We want:
Opinions
Alternative view points
Extra value
Content creator Toni-Cowan Brown brought this term to centre stage last week in a TikTok video. She has been educating fans on the term, after the embarrassing news coverage of the W Series story.
Sharing that 70% of the news articles she read did the “bare minimum”.
To say it was mass copying and pasting of the press release would be an understand.
If we don’t acknowledge Gender Bland Sexism we will continue to do women’s sport a disservice.
[adrotate banner=”5″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.
News Coverage Is Hurting Women’s Sport
The significant difference in coverage is hurting women’s sport.
Many are quick to point out failures of the W Series or call it boring but have you considered that the coverage is what’s letting the sport and women down?
We may not see sexist coverage in the same crude way anymore but it doesn’t mean it’s not there. It is simply more discreet.
Instead of sexualising female athletes we are seeing commentary and news that is void of excitement, emotion and opinion, gender bland sexism.
So next time you look at the lack of sponsors, viewers and tickets sold in women’s sport. Think back to the coverage. Not only is women’s coverage far less but it’s bland too.
Coverage that is vital for the success of a sport and for athletes particularly when it comes to sponsorship.
Women in Sport’s report ‘Women’s Sport: Say Yes to Success’ found that women get only 7% of total sports coverage in the media.
Whatever your thoughts are on the W Series, its mistakes or its value for women’s motorsport, there is no denying that the coverage of the story was poor.
Gender bland sexism is more present than we think, and it’s important we acknowledge that if we want to continue to improve women’s sport.
If we don’t, we will continue to do women’s sport a disservice.
Remember
women’s sport isn’t boring.
But the coverage often is…
[adrotate banner=”6″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1’ at checkout.
Were you aware of gender bland sexism?
Let us know in the comments.