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3 Duke J. Gender L. & Pol'y 95 (1996)
Media Coverage of the Post Title IX Female Athlete: A Feminist Analysis of Sport, Gender, and Power

handle is hein.journals/djglp3 and id is 101 raw text is: MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE POST TITLE IX FEMALE ATHLETE: A FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF SPORT, GENDER, AND POWER MARY Jo KANE* 1. INTRODUCTION Sport is one of the most important institutions in American culture. This certainly is demonstrated by the vast resources spent on sport-related enter- prises. With respect to discretionary spending alone, billions of dollars are spent annually on the sale of licensed sport products (e.g., baseball caps). In 1992, retail sales of all licensed sport merchandise totaled $12.2 billion.1 In the early 1990s, the top four men's professional sport leagues (football, bas- ketball, baseball, and ice hockey) generated almost $4 billion in revenues.2 Most recently, Anheuser-Busch announced that they had signed a $40 million contract to be the official beer sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games to be held in Atlanta, Georgia.3 Sport has become such a bedrock of our national psyche that sport figures often come to symbolize larger pressing social concerns such as date rape (Mike Tyson), never-ending and seemingly ran- dom acts of violence (Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan, Monica Seles), and spousal abuse (O.J. Simpson). In spite of the all-pervasive influence of sport, academic scholars have ignored its significance. But if sport is just a game, why are so much time, money, and cultural support invested in this particular institution? As media scholar Nick Trujillo cautions, the academic study of sport should not be taken lightly as an area of scholarly pursuit.4 Feminist scholars in particular have given scant attention to sport, per- haps because they consider it an activity that belongs to men and therefore has little relevance to women, especially women who embrace a feminist perspective. Such a position is problematic, if not dangerous. For many * Mary Jo Kane is an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. She currently serves as the Director of the Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport (CRGWS). The CRGWS is the first and only university-housed interdisciplin- ary research center devoted solely to research, education, and outreach on issues related to sport and gender. Professor Kane acknowledges the contribution of Jonathan Sweet to the preparation of this manuscript. 1. JERRY GORMAN & KIRK CALHOUN, THE NAME OF THE GAME: THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS 130 (1994). 2. Anthony Baldo, Secrets of the Front Office: What America's Pro Teams Are Worth, in SPORT IN CONTEMPORARY SOcIETY 187, 188 (D. Stanley Eitzen ed., 4th ed. 1993). 3. Do Beer and Olympics Mix?, N.Y. TIMEs, Apr. 15, 1993, at B12. 4. Nick Trujillo, Hegemonic Masculinity on the Mound: Media Representations of Nolan Ryan and American Sports Culture, 8 CRmCAL STUD. IN MASS COMM. 290, 303 (1991).

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