Female Athletes Arise In 2012
Gender equality in the Olympics has been a common debate for years. The main argument from many is that women are always given the “short end of the stick” with little media attention compared to the men. Men are always given more clock time, mentions, and descriptions then women (Billings, 2008). This common trend has caused women in sports to falter, but in the 2012 London Olympic games female athleticism has seen a turn around and is now in the limelight. The London games have been dubbed “Year of the Women,” thus celebrating women in sports and giving them their own chance to shine. These award-winning female athletes are breaking down gender barriers and providing a sense of hope, inspiration, and confidence to not only female athletes but also women in general.
Women’s athletics in the Olympics has been on the rise for years. Females were first allowed to participate in the 1900 Paris Olympics. From this point on, the number of athletes and events that women were allowed to participate in has continued to grow. In 2004, 40% of all the athletes were female. Since then, this number has increased to 42% in Beijing and 45% in the 2012 London games (IOC, 2008 & Haven, 2012). These results clearly show that female athletics has grown and is continuing to grow and become more popular. Reports show that for the first time in history the United States, whom is known to be an athletic powerhouse of male athletes, has sent more women participants to the 2012 games than men (Whitley, 2012). This was not only the case in the United States but in China and Russia as well. Women have been working hard to upkeep gender equality in the Olympics but the road has not always been easy for them to travel down.
While female athletics has been becoming increasingly more popular these days, it has not always been treated fairly come the Olympics. Men and women have not always been described as equals when it comes to Olympic media. This is mainly because of the gender differences in reporters. Male anchors tend to stress male athletics, while female anchors tend to celebrate females more (Billings, 2008). The gender inequality history has kept up over the years because of the male to female ratio of anchors. NBC, whom has the rights of broadcasting the Olympics, has stated over the years that they have been committed in making female athletes more visible during the games (Billings, 2008). They have not kept up their end of the deal until this Olympics, the London 2012 games. They have put women up at the forefront with men like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. Women like Gabby Douglas, Missy Franklin, and Kerri Walsh-Jennings have been all over the media. Not only has Missy Franklin’s twitter exploded, but also male anchors like Bob Costas have noted her popularity and celebrated her success (Budrovich, 2012). This clearly shows that the tides are turning and female athletes are making a name for themselves.
In addition to the mass media coverage of the women Olympians, advertisers have been celebrating female athletes as well. Well-known companies such as Nike and Proctor & Gamble are sending messages to females everywhere. Not only are they inspiring athletes they are taking it back to square one and supporting the mothers behind them. Proctor & Gamble have been creating commercials and ads that are specifically for moms in general. They are highlighting mothers as the inspiration and driving force behind the stellar athletes themselves. Nike on the other hand is trying to knock down the barriers for female athletes. For example, they released a commercial ad with known athletes Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, Marlen Esparza, and Joan Benoit-Samuelson. In it they talk about how they made their own rules and paved their own paths to success. These women serve as role models, for having done it all; they continued to pursue their dreams of being Olympic athletes even when the rest of the world did not support them. They all worked hard enough to gain a privilege of participating in an Olympics, that alone is an accomplishment, but they all even won Olympic medals. Each of these athletes has made a huge impact on female athletics encouraging women not only in their sports of basketball, track, and boxing but in all sports.
The media and advertisers have shifted their focus to the female athlete as more women are watching than men. With the women tune-in rates during the Olympics coming in at 52%, female athletes are given a special and unique platform to perform on (Schonberger, 2012). Obviously, female viewers are interested in watching the perfect male specimens compete for gold, but they also tune-in to watch women make a name in sports history. Olympic athletes such as Missy Franklin of the United States, Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi of Malaysia, and Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani of Saudi Arabia are doing just that. Missy Franklin, an Olympic swimmer has made her name known, winning an astounding 5 medals (4 gold, 1 bronze) in her premiere Olympics all while being the ripe old age of just 17. Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi is competing as a shooter and making history as the most pregnant Olympian to compete in the Olympic games with her baby due any day (Surk, 2012). Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, an elite judo competitor, is the first Saudi Arabian female athlete sent to the Olympics (Batrawy, 2012). This just shows how the Olympics are one step closer to the committee’s goal of 50/50 participation (Goldsmith, 2012). They are changing the face of female athleticism and striving to keep women’s athletics at the forefront.
Aside from the competing and making history aspect the “girls of the games” are offering inspiration to all generations. Inspiration can come from anything. It can come from one simple quote, action, or a role model. The Olympics, having the biggest stage on television, offer simply that to all of its viewers, especially women. Seeing these female athletes strive for perfection and to make their own mark on history definitely has an effect on women everywhere. For example, a few African American girls from Colorado have taken up the sport of gymnastics after being inspired by Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas. Douglas was the first African American gymnast to win all-around gold at the London 2012 Olympics (Mulkey, 2012). Claressa Shields and Marlen Esparza are also inspiring females everywhere. Not only were they some of the first female boxers allowed to participate at the Olympics, but they even took home gold and bronze medals in their boxing categories. These prized athletes offer inspiration through their athletic abilities and their achievements up on the medal stand.
The place to be at the Olympics is always standing on top of the medal stand. An Olympic medal, the most prized award an athlete can attain, stands for more than just a victory but for a life’s dream or goal accomplished. Predominantly males have crushed the medal boards, winning more medals then female contenders. As the time is changing females have taken over the medal count. In this year’s Olympics, women have shone their true colors and with dignity and pride have accepted more gold medals then men in the United States. Men claimed 17 gold medals in London while women flourished and almost doubled the men’s count by bringing home 29 (Keating, 2012). This will certainly go down in the Olympic archives as something for women athletes everywhere to be proud of. They have worked hard through harsh criticism and scrutiny from the media to become true Olympians. It is known fact that people in the past have not always stood behind female athletes, bringing them down with harsh criticisms and constantly pushing them aside. For example, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the games, once said that female athletes were “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect”(Whitley, 2012). The own founder of the games did not support women; he did not think they were fit to participate. This just shows how biased people were about gender years ago and how women have evolved into equals with men.
If one were to look through a magazine or a news article or to have watched the London games then they saw first hand how the media gave women an important role. The media celebrated them and took note in their achievements instead of hiding them behind the men for once. The 2012 Olympic games had a clear sense of female dominance not just in the precursors and ads leading up to the games but all throughout them. Women shattered world and Olympic records, they made Olympic history, and they broke down gender barriers. The London games have been nicknamed things such as “Girl’s Games” and “Girl Power Games” according to journalist Byron Gordon (2012). I think that these are well-suited names because women were a dominating force this year. They came in strong with their sponsors and media coverage and instead of tanking like other Olympics, they continued to win and gain respect from all fans. These games provided a strong sense of gender equality in how they set up equal standards for the men and women. I do think that the clock-time, descriptions, and mentions from the reporters in this Olympics were very fair in that they gave each gender equal support. Support for female athletics I think has definitely grown since these games. Things like women outnumbering men on some countries teams and women leading the medal count are prime examples of how females are making their name known. I believe that years from now the impact that all the female Olympians from the 2012 Olympics had on spectators will still be in effect because they set a new standard for generations to follow. Women are no longer following in the footsteps of male competitors; they are creating their own right along side of them.

References:
Billings, A. C. (2008). Olympic media, inside the biggest show on television. (p. 107). New York: Routledge.

Schonberger, J. (May , 3 2012). Olympics' coverage still shortchanges female athletes. Retrieved from http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/05/03/olympics-coverage-still-shortchanges-female-athletes

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Batrawy, A. (August , 3 2012). Wojdan ali seraj abdulrahim shahrkhani is first saudi woman to compete in olympics . Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/wojdan-ali-seraj-abdulrahim-shahrkhani_n_1739381.html

Goldsmith, B. (August, 12 2012). Olympics-women warriors urged to keep up the fight. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/oly-end-women-idUSL6E8J67XK20120812

Keating, S. (August , 12 2012). Girl power carries u.s. back to top of medal table. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/sns-rt-us-oly-usa-review-2012bre87b0jn-20120812,0,1106926.story

Whitley , D. (2012, August 12). Olympics 2012: Women rule london-no cynicism necessary. Retrieved from http://aol.sportingnews.com/olympics/story/2012-08-12/olympics-2012-gabby-douglas-missy-franklin-abby-wambach-female-olympians

Gordon, B. (2012, August 13). London 2012: Team of role models made this the girl power games. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/london-2012/9471522/London-2012-Team-of-role-models-made-this-the-Girl-Power-Games.html