Mariah Burton Femininity In Sports

Sport is not traditionally seen as feminine. Ex-professional women’s basketball player, Mariah Burton Nelson begs the question then- “How can you win if you’re female? Can you just do it? No. You have to play the femininity game. Femininity by definition is not large, not imposing, not competitive. Feminine women are not ruthless, not aggressive, not victorious. Femininity is about appearing beautiful and vulnerable and small. It’s about winning male approval (Burton 1998).” Gender roles play a large part in the media’s representation of female athletes. In a historically sexist world where ruthlessness, aggression, and victory are associated as male characteristics, female athletes are viewed as masculine and undesirable. In order to be socially