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Riley Back
COM 495
Professor Boyd
December 4, 2015
Case Study: Lindsey Vonns Sports Illustrated Cover
Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn has achieved great success in her career
she has won four World Cup championships and a gold medal for downhill
skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her Olympic triumph made her the firstever American woman to win the gold in that event, making her one of the
most influential and well-known female athletes in sports history. Her success
has placed her in the spotlight not only is Vonn extraordinarily talented, she
is also charismatic and attractive, making her a popular icon within sports
media. After her 2010 Olympic victory, Sports Illustrated featured Vonn and
displayed her on the magazines cover. The cover photo sparked a heated
discussion on the medias portrayal of women in sports, and how female
athletes are more likely to be sexually objectified by media and taken less
seriously than their male counterparts.
Summary
After the issues release, Vonns Sports Illustrated cover received some
backlash from readers and sports fans. In the photo, Vonn is seen in a tuck
pose, a common skiing position. Despite being in a traditional skiing pose,
Vonn is not wearing a helmet or goggles; instead, she has her hair and
makeup done and positioned perfectly. Her head is turned, and she is

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smiling. According to Newsweek (2011), her pose combined with her
glamorous look caused some people to believe the cover was depicting Vonn
in an inappropriate manner. Mary Jo Kane, a writer for The Nation, wrote that
Sports Illustrated blatantly portrayed Vonn as a sex object and spoke
volumes about the rampant sexual depictions of women athletes. It is
argued that this instance points to a vast array of similar cases in which the
media has objectified female athletes, and that perhaps there is a larger
issue at hand. Historically, women in sports are more likely to be portrayed in
ways that highlight their attractiveness and femininity, rather than their
athleticism. Men are pictured as being tough and dominant, while women are
hypersexualized (Kane 2011). In 1992, for example, Sports Illustrated did a
similar Olympic feature of male skier A.J. Kitt. Kitt is shown on the
magazines cover in a similar tuck pose as Vonn but in his photo, Kitt is
faced forward with his helmet and goggles on, skiing down a hill in a more
serious action shot. Some argue that female athletes are pressured into
playing up their femininity due to the fact that sex sells. Emily Liang from
Student Pulse stated in an article that by sexualizing female athletes and
encouraging them to prioritize sex appeal over strength, the media not only
degrade[s] the athletes accomplishments and self-esteem, but also
alienate[s] viewers... (2011). According to the course textbook, just over
four percent of Sports Illustrated covers have featured women (p. 124). Out
of that small percentage, very few of the featured women have been shown
as serious or in action like their male counterparts have (Saunders 2010).

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Despite the outrage by some, many people do not see a problem with the
cover photo. Since the tuck is a common skiing position, many believe that
Vonns cover photo portrayed her in her natural element, and that if she
wants to emphasize and show off her beauty, then she should be able to do
so.
Analysis
The controversy over Vonns Sports Illustrated cover points to a larger
problem within sports communication, and that is the issues that arise with
regards to gender in sports. According to the textbook, hegemonic
masculinity blankets society with the notion that sports must be associated
with what it means to be a man, at the expense of populations that do not
meet those masculine characteristics (p. 123). Women in sports are
constantly challenged by the dated societal norm that says females are not
tough or strong enough to be taken seriously in sport; as a result, they spend
their entire careers proving themselves. The topic of gendered coverage of
sport is one that more specifically relates to this case. Many believe that
Vonns cover photo plays into the stereotype of women in sports, the
stereotype that says women do not meet the characteristics associated with
hegemonic masculinity: cute, feminine and less serious than, say, A.J. Kitt in
his 1992 cover photo. Whether or not this was intentional, it speaks to an
overarching problem for women in sports: skewed media coverage. There are
categorical differences in gendered media dialogue, for one; the textbook
states that people tend to associate different words with males as they do

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with females (p.131). These divergent sets of words run rampant in media
dialogues, along with the use of gender marking. This only further enforces
issues like Vonns, as she is described with more feminine words and gender
marking; the Sports Illustrated cover itself reads, Americas Best Woman
Skier Ever. Womens sports are broadcast far less than mens sports, which
is an issue in itself, but the more relevant problem is with the way in which
women are portrayed throughout the already minimal coverage. Society sees
female athletes through a narrow lens that depicts them in the way the
media wants them to be depicted, which only serves to perpetuate the
stereotypical image of women in sports. It is an undoubtedly challenging
situation for female athletes to face, as they are often the victims of sexual
disparagement. If they are too feminine, they are not taken seriously, but if
they are too masculine, they are labeled as butch or lesbian. Lindsey Vonn
has likely been faced with this issue, which has naturally led her to juggle her
sexuality and her athletic prowess in attempt to find a balance. Of course, it
is easy for female athletes to choose to play up their sexuality in attempt to
make themselves more marketable, as Vonn has been rumored to do, but it
is arguably at the expense of the prominence of their athletic
accomplishments. For women like Vonn, there seems to be a trade-off
without a happy medium: either gain popularity by embracing femininity
while risking athletic credibility, or focus solely on sport without much of an
audience.
Assessment

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The publics that are most important in this case are media consumers
like the readers of Sports Illustrated, fans of skiing and the Olympics and
women in general. Consumers of media like Sports Illustrated are exactly the
reason that Vonns cover was designed the way it was, because sex sells.
Until society changes its perception of women in sports, the media will not
change the way it portrays them. The media industry is comprised of some
of the worlds biggest businesses, and they want to make money. Right now,
consumers continue to create a demand for the masculine spectacle that is
mens sports, alongside a demand for sexuality. Skiing and Olympic fans are
also important in the assessment of this case, as they are likely more aware
of Vonns accomplishments as an athlete than someone who does not follow
the sport, making them more likely to be unhappy with her portrayal on the
magazine cover. Most importantly, women in general make up a public that
relates closely to this case. Athletes like Vonn set examples for women
constantly, especially young women and children. Do sexualized images of
Vonn and other female athletes send messages to women that they need to
conform to some conventional standard of beauty? Either way, women in
society are likely made aware of the medias portrayal of women in sports,
and what they hear and see can influence their individual perceptions of
their own capabilities and potential. Athletes like Vonn, as well as the media,
need to keep in mind that these audiences are directly linked to them and
are important when issues and controversies like this arise.

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In my opinion, Vonn should not have allowed Sports Illustrated to
publish that particular cover photo. There were many other photos from the
shoot that could have sufficed, such as action shots. The combination of
Vonn in her skiing gear and position, with a full face of makeup smiling at the
camera and the comparison to A.J. Kitts cover, proved to incite a negative
reaction. This portrayal played into the stereotype of women being less
serious in sports although I believe that Vonn should be able to do
whatever she wants, it may have been a better idea to go with a cover photo
that supplemented the significance of her Olympic win. In addition, Vonn
could have made a statement regarding the cover and her thoughts on the
negative perceptions of it, or even explained why she chose to do the cover
photo. This could have reinforced to her fans, the readers and to women
everywhere that she is strong and confident in herself and her decision to be
featured, and could have quieted some of the controversy.
Female athletes like Lindsey Vonn are challenged daily by the pressure
to be feminine and masculine all at once. Age-old gender stereotypes are still
prevalent throughout society, especially in sports. The media depicts women
in sports very differently than they do men; female athletes are taken far
less seriously and are faced with potential sexual objectivity. As the number
of women in professional sports continues to increase, hopefully society will
start to focus more on the great achievements of these women, rather than
their gender.
References

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Dailey, K., & Ball, S. (2010, February 8). Lindsey Vonn's Sports Illustrated
Cover: Sexist or Sporty? Two NEWSWEEK Writers Discuss. Newsweek.
Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-vonns-sportsillustrated-cover-sexist-or-sporty-two-newsweek-writers-discuss222984

Kane, M.J. (2011, July 27). Sex Sells, Not Womens Sports. The Nation.
Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/sex-sells-sex-notwomens-sports/

Liang, E. (2011). The Media's Sexualization of Female Athletes: A Bad Call for
the Modern Game. Student Pulse. Retrieved from
http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/587/the-medias-sexualization-offemale-athletes-a-bad-call-for-the-modern-game

Saunders, P. (2010, February 5). Vonns SI Cover: Sexist or Not? The Denver
Post. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_14341638