Researchers Found Increasing Discrimination against Female Athlete

Experts at the University of Missouri School of Journalism have found that micro aggressions against female athletes. The researchers have analyzed that discrimination against Female Athlete in the media increased by nearly 40 percent from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

It’s been found that female athletes have had experienced micro aggressions in the form of racism, sexism, the belittling of athletic activities and being the brunt of sexual jokes.

The author of the research analyzed 723 newspaper and magazine articles covering the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. The researchers analyzed coverage of the 2012 Olympics where they found 69 micro aggressions against female athletes. In the 2016 Olympic coverage, the researchers found 96 instances of micro aggressions against female athletes.

These micro aggressions included four instances of sexual objectification, 26 instances of treating females as second-class citizens, 44 instances of racist or sexist language or jokes, 61 instances of restrictive gender roles, and 30 instances of focusing on the athletes' physical body types and shapes.

The researchers also found increased micro aggressions against female athletes who play more "masculine" sports such as basketball, power lifting and wrestling.

By: Ms Priyanka Negi

Content: www.sciencedaily.com