Branded and “icons of Liberty or Objects of Desire”

Branded and “Icons of Liberty or Objects of Desire” response                        EXSC 190, 2/3/17        

Name:

Branded

1. Tell me what you thought after watching Branded.  What stuck out to you most?

1. Why did Chris Evert get more endorsements than Martina Navratilova?

1. According to Branded, what about Mary Lou Retton allowed men to also “cheer” for her (not just women)?

1. Mary Lou Retton said that she was advised to not speak about “things that may upset people”.  She stated that as a result of that advice she “lost her voice for a long time.”  Do you think that female athletes’ fame (and/or revenue generation) comes at the expense of a woman’s ability to express a strong opinion?

1. Anna Kournikova was called an “investment” and her looks were the “center of marketing strategy”.  According to what (little) you saw in Branded, do you think she was exploited by sport marketers and the media?

1. Katherine Switzer (first woman to run the Boston Marathon), Chris Evert, Danica Patrick, and members of the 1999 US women’s soccer team all made reference to feeling pressure to win or open doors for women and girls in the future.  Do you think women have more pressure to be trailblazers than men?  Do you think that could take the fun out of the game?

1. In Branded, WNBA players were described as “intense”, “athletic”, “powerful” and “strong” but heard an announcer state that they shouldn’t “try to be men”.  Do you think it is culturally acceptable that women be all of those things?

1. It was suggested in Branded that if the WNBA wants to generate more revenue they need to “change the game for mass appeal” and “not look like guys”.  Lisa Leslie also said that to generate enough revenue to pay players a good salary, “how we look is as important as how we play”.  Gabrielle Reece mentioned capitalizing on attention and making smart business decisions and “moving without the ball” to extend their brand.  In reference to Lolo Jones’ social media campaign Gabrielle Reece said that people “get uncomfortable when women exploit themselves”.  Do you think the effort female professional athletes must go through for revenue generation is at a cost?  Is that the kind of role model we want for our young girls?  And are they perpetuating the problem?

 “Icons of Liberty or Objects of Desire”

1. What do you think this quote means, “nothing in the world more strikingly marks the great gap between the girl of today and her grandmother than that girl’s place in the world of sport.  Neither her vote, nor her skimpy dress, nor her plainness of speech, is more expressive.”

1. Pick out one quote that stood out to you and tell me why.

1. Why was the women’s 800 m race not run between the 1928 and 1960 Olympics?  (Not found in the article.  Look up online and cite your source.)

1. How were men and women portrayed differently in photos in the media?

1. On page 444 the article states that some women believed that female athletes could not completely experience “liberty” in sport unless they were completely separate from “male gazes, male control, and male models of elite competitive sport”.  Do you think that women can only be valued for their athleticism (not their sex appeal) when completely separate from men?

1. What are the “two historic poles of American feminism”?

1. What kinds of descriptors were used by the media when reporting on the female Olympians?  Is this different than today, according to Branded?

1. What is the “third sex”?