" He's driving, and striving...

He's all alone, racing and pacing and plotting the course

He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse..."

But I would sing, "And she's racing and pacing and hugging the turns, she's going the distance." People would correct me and say, "Sweetheart, it's he." But I felt like the "he's" got to do everything. There were not, and still are not, any female professional football players. In the movies, the "he's" always got the most dramatic and important roles. A "she" had never, and still has not, gotten to be President. The "he's" were, and usually still are, the head of the families, while the female is left in charge of errands. "He's" brought, and still generally bring in, the largest salaries. In other words, "he's" dominate society. Thus, the media and business circles, as well as the rest of the world, appeal to the interests and desires of the males-their most significant consumer.

I hated not having my desires considered. I wanted to be the first "she" pro football player, the

Many media portrayls of female athletes work against the projection of the "successful, strong new female,". One example is the article "The coach as a sexual predator: Are Young girls safe?" We worry about a group of men getting together because they could become sexually violent; we worry about a team of females being sexually violated. The article seems to subconsciously imply that we needn't worry-women will still be delicate and vulnerable. "Delicacy" and "vulnerability" are traits that males prefer in females; they are traits that keep males secure and in control.

These contradictions are not the only problems we are facing. We are also dealing with a very narrow scope of acceptance. Society has now said, "Okay, I guess it's alright for females to acquire these characteristics of strength. Okay, maybe it's good to make our females stronger." But that is as far as society is willing to go. We agree to strong, independent, sexy females, but they musn't be masculine looking, and "good God, they certainly can't be lesbians." Because those things would not fit the male ideal.

Sports are still judged on the talent and ability, and women's special gifts (humanity, connection, etc.) have not yet been taken into account. Because of this, the media is forced to focus on what the athletics can do for a woman's self perception, rather than on the actual athletic contest (where women have not the speed or power of the men). Anna Quinden states in "Pumping Iron with Anna Quinden," that athletics work wonders on female self concept. Quinden is not a weight lifting expert, but rather a feminist writer who says lifting makes her feel more powerful, which increases both her self-respect and her self-confidence. Women's athletic activity is presented as a self-concept enhancer rather than a true competition. In a men's weightlifting article, you would have a world-renowned weight trainer; for the women's, you have a world-renowned writer who has some important thoughts on female self-concept. Concepts and perceptions, rather than the actual competition or event, are what is currently the most-talked about issue in women's sports. We are fascinated with the recreation of the traditional female, despite the contradicting portrayals in the media.

On the cover of sports magazine, male athletes are shown in motion-sweat dripping from their lean bodies, tongue stuck out of their mouth, in the midst of their domination. Sheryl Swoopes on the other hand, has her face made up, shining a smile at us, her hand daintily holding a ball. The magazine's puts a lot of focus on romance, pregnancy, and sexual predators; and then thrown over there on the side, we have the small print concerning the actual athletes. Though women in sports have come very far from ten years ago-where there was never a thought of a SI Womensport-we still are focusing less on true female athletes and more on past, traditional traits-traditional traits that meet the male ideal. Yet we are continuing to progress; yesterday, for example, I saw the latest SI for women, and on the cover was an athlete who wasn't smiling or wearing earrings, but who was instead in motion. This is a far contrast from the Swoopes cover of 97.' So, although we are still struggling to accept what is new and different-and struggling to place emphasis on the female needs as well as the male ideal--our efforts do seem to be, like the latest female athletes, "in motion.

Thus, it is not wrong to present

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sports Illustrated, Sheryl Swoopes's, SI Women, Hilary Clinton, Anna Quinden, Distance Cake, Society Okay, Grant Hill, SI Womensport-we, Anna Kornikova, female athletes, male ideal, swoopes cover, female athlete, women sports, cover sports, wrong women athletes, women women, strong female, sports illustrated, sports women, images female athletes, women women becoming,
Approximate Word count = 2343
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)