VOA慢速英语--社交媒体指奥运报道里存性别歧视

AS IT IS 2016-08-23 Social Media Points Out Sexism in Olympics Coverage¹ 社交媒体指奥运报道里存性别歧视

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The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have come to an end, but people are still discussing media coverage of the event.

Several comments by Olympic broadcasters about women athletes led to a debate.

During the team gymnastics competition, for example, an American broadcaster commented about the smiling and laughing U.S. women’s team. They had just easily won a round of the competition. The announcer said that the athletes “might as well be standing² in the middle of a mall.”

Another American announcer credited Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu’s husband for making her a winning competitor. Hosszu’s husband, American Shane Tusup, is also her coach.

And the Chicago Tribune newspaper identified bronze medal winner Corey Cogdell-Unrein in a headline as the “wife” of a Chicago football player. The headline failed to give Cogdell-Urein’s name. She is an American competitor in the sport of trap shooting.

Equal time, unequal treatment

The Olympic Games are an opportunity for women’s sports to get as much attention as men’s sports on television in America.

A 2015 study from the University of Southern California found that the sports network ESPN spends only 2 percent of its broadcast time on women’s sports. That rate has not changed in 26 years, the study found.

The Olympics, however, are more balanced. A team of researchers found that 58 percent of the television coverage in the first week of the 2016 Olympics included women athletes.

However, the way in which men and women athletes are discussed by the media is not always the same.

Researchers from Cambridge University studied more than 160 million words from news articles, social media, internet websites and other places. They researched the words used to describe men and women in Olympic sports.

The researchers found that men most often were described as “great” “strong” and “fastest.”

Women, however, were described most often using words not related to their ability in sports. The researchers noted³ words like “older,” “pregnant” and “married” were used often for women athletes.

People on social media have pointed⁴ out examples of what they consider sexism during the Rio Olympics. Sexism is the unfair treatment of people because of their sex.

Rebecca Brooks⁵ is a market researcher in Los Angeles. She told VOA that sexism in Olympic coverage is “nothing new.”

“Many of the broadcasters covering the Rio Olympics are the same reporters who have covered the events in past decades,” Brooks said .

Why, then, has sexism become a major topic during these Olympics? Some experts say social media may be the answer.

A.J. Marsden is a professor of psychology⁶ at Beacon⁷ College in Leesburg, Florida. She notes that young people, or millennials, are quick to notice such comments and then discuss them on social media.

Marsden also said that most of the broadcasters “accused of sexist statements are a little bit older.”

Journalist Lindy West writes about gender⁸ equality. She recently wrote a report in The Guardian⁹ newspaper about sexism and the Olympics. She offered advice to reporters who cover women’s sports.

“Don’t spend more time discussing female athletes’ makeup¹⁰, hairdos….marital¹¹ status and age...than you spend analyzing¹² the incredible feats¹³ of strength and skills…”

She also said that reporters should simply write about women athletes “the way you write about male athletes….without mentioning their gender except maybe in the name of the sport.”

Words in This Story

coverage - n. the activity of reporting about an event or subject in newspapers, on television news programs, etc.

athlete - n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

mall - n. a large building or group of buildings containing stores of many different kinds and sizes

sexism - n. unfair treatment of people because of their sex, especially unfair treatment of women

journalist - n. a person who researchers, writes and edits news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

gender - n. the state of being male or female

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

7 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

10 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

11 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

12 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

13 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。