Sports fandom continues to change as new technologies emerge. Fans are now able to interact with athletes, sports writers, sports casters, and sports media via the Internet and increasingly personal ways. With the phenomenon of fantasy sports, sports fandom continues to change as fans become more involved in sports and become virtual managers of their own teams. Internet message boards, blogs, and fan sites further allow fans to voice their opinions, possibly even affecting decisions made by sports organizations. Yet in all of these outlets, the image of the sports fan remains as a masculine male. But is this changing? Are female sports fans becoming more visible? How are female sports fans portrayed in the media? What affect, if any, do these female sports fans have on sports media? I believe female sports fans are an increasing group of untapped sports media consumers. Though consistently ignored, they can be highly profitable if marketed to correctly. This paper proposes female sports fans are a small, but growing force threatening to undermine gender stereotypes, while contending with the sexist portrayal of female athletes and sports casters.
This paper will begin with a brief history of females entering male dominated sports, followed by an examination of the current portrayal of female athletes, specifically the highly visible Danica Patrick, a paradox who continues to break gender barriers while adhering to overly sexualized images of female athletes. An examination of sports’ direct marketing to men will show how sports media excludes women and prevents them from entering the male dominated world of sports fans. Following this will be a discussion of how female sports are becoming more visible, especially via the internet, concluding with an argument as to why and how female sports fans should be marketed to by dominant sports media. It is important to note that this paper will only focus on female fans of mainstream male sports.
Sources used will be historical accounts of females in sports, as well as multiple journalistic materials regarding female athletes and their male fans. A look at print and television sports advertising and marketing will be used along with multiple Internet blogs and fan sites produced by females. Theoretical writings on the female consumer will also be consulted. There is also hope for obtaining interviews with sports marketers and media producers.
This paper hopes to open up a larger discussion on the affect of female sports fans on sports media and marketing. The goal is for companies to recognize this large consumer group while also breaking down gender stereotypes and allowing for multiple images of females in sports to be produced.
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