Women's Sports

Although girls and women account for approximately 40 percent of all athletes in the United States they receive only 4 percent of the total sport media coverage. SportsCenter ESPN''s flagship program dedicates less than 2 percent of its airtime to women. Local news networks devote less than 5 percent of their programming to women''s sports. Excluding Sports Illustrated''s annual Swimsuit Issue women appear on just 4.9 percent of the magazine''s covers. Media is a powerful indication of the culture surrounding sport in the United States. Why are women underrepresented in sports media? Sports Illustrated journalist Andy Benoit infamously remarked that women''s sports are not worth watching. Although he later apologized Benoit''s comment points to more general lack of awareness. Consider for example the confusion surrounding Title IX the U.S. Law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program that receives federal financial assistance. Is Title IX to blame when administrators drop men''s athletic programs? Is it lack of interest or lack of opportunity that causes girls and women to participate in sport at lower rates than boys and men? In Women''s Sports Jaime Schultz tackles these questions along with many others to upend the misunderstandings that plague women''s sports. Using historical contemporary scholarly and popular sources Schultz traces the progress and pitfalls of women''s involvement in sport. In the signature question-and-answer format of the What Everyone Needs to Know® series this short and accessible bookclarifies misconceptions that dog women''s athletics and offers much needed context and history to illuminate the struggles and inequalities sportswomen continue to face. By exploring issues such as gender sexuality sex segregation the Olympic and Paralympic Games media coverage and the sport-health connection Schultz shows why women''s sports are not just worth watching but worth playing supporting and fighting for.