In the article that appeared in the Daily Targum the next day entitled "NJN drops ball on Rutgers women", the author is quick to assert that had it been a men"s game it never would have happened. I have to say I agree with him.

             "Women"s movement into sport represents a genuine quest by women for equality, control of their own bodies, and self-definition, and, as such, it represents a challenge to male hegemony in athletics and larger society (Cohen 1993). In 1974 women won the right to play little league baseball but they were patronized for doing so, and I believe that though the discrimination has quieted down it will never be silent. I assert that most men and (I am sad to say) even some women would prefer that women stay out of sports and I allege that socialization has played the major role in portraying the belief that women should stay out of the sports scene. For example, when the media covers female sports, the athletes are portrayed in ways that link them to oppressive stereotypes, such as: frailty, sexuality, and limited physical capacity (Kane 1996). Female athletes challenge America"s 'patriarchal" society, and because social constructions harbor patriarchal values and beliefs when women challenge those beliefs they are viewed negatively. The media function"s to reinforce traditional values rather than to challenge or lead in the transformation to more enlightened thinking (Cohen 1993). This is socialization at its finest.

             Women"s sports make up 6-8% of all media coverage and the athletes are portrayed as sexual objects while their athleticism is ignored and devalued (Kane 1996). Almost 60% of female athletes featured on or in magazines were photographed in posed shots rather than shots revealing their athletic participation (Kane 1996). For example, Flo Jo, one of the best female sprinters in the world was often photographed because she fit conventional standards of beauty (Kane 1996).