The Effects of Sexualized and Violent Presentations of Women in Combat Sport
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Journal of Sport Management, 2017, 31, 533-545 https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2016-0333 © 2017 Human Kinetics, Inc. ARTICLE The Effects of Sexualized and Violent Presentations of Women in Combat Sport T. Christopher Greenwell University of Louisville Jason M. Simmons University of Cincinnati Meg Hancock and Megan Shreffler University of Louisville Dustin Thorn Xavier University This study utilizes an experimental design to investigate how different presentations (sexualized, neutral, and combat) of female athletes competing in a combat sport such as mixed martial arts, a sport defying traditional gender norms, affect consumers’ attitudes toward the advertising, event, and athlete brand. When the female athlete in the advertisement was in a sexualized presentation, male subjects reported higher attitudes toward the advertisement and the event than the female subjects. Female respondents preferred neutral presentations significantly more than the male respondents. On the one hand, both male and female respondents felt the fighter in the sexualized ad was more attractive and charming than the fighter in the neutral or combat ads and more personable than the fighter in the combat ads. On the other hand, respondents felt the fighter in the sexualized ad was less talented, less successful, and less tough than the fighter in the neutral or combat ads and less wholesome than the fighter in the neutral ad. Keywords: brand, consumer attitude, sports advertising, women’s sports February 23, 2013, was a historic date for women’s The UFC is not the only MMA organization featur- mixed martial arts (MMA). For the first time in history, ing female fighters. Invicta Fighting Championships (an two female fighters not only competed in an Ultimate all-female MMA organization) and Bellator MMA reg- Fighting Championship (UFC) event, Ronda Rousey and ularly include female bouts on their fight cards. Prior to Liz Carmouche were also the headline attraction for UFC the inclusion of female fighters in the UFC, now-defunct 157. Ironically, this bout came just 2 years after UFC Strikeforce had a number of prominent women on its President Dana White was shown in a video on TMZ roster including Cris “Cyborg” Justino, Gina Carano, stating women would “never” fight for the company. Since Meisha Tate, and Ronda Rousey. Carano and Cyborg that time, women’s MMA has grown considerably. Fe- even headlined an August 2009 Strikeforce card, a first fi male fights are regular fixtures at UFC events. UFC 193, for women ghters at a major MMA event (Brick, 2009). headlined by Rousey and Holly Holm, drew the largest in- In the world of MMA, however, UFC is widely consid- venue audience in the company’shistory(Erickson, 2015). ered the premier organization, and the Rousey/ Carmouche main event at UFC 157 thrust women fight- In 2014, season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show fi featured an all-female cast for the first time. ers rmly into the conscious of MMA enthusiasts. When it comes to promoting combat sports (i.e., sports featuring more contact and violence than tradi- Greenwell, Hancock, and Shreffler are with the Sport Administration Program, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. Simmons is with tional sports), marketers have a variety of options of how the Sport Management Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, to present their sport and their athletes. A primary theme OH. Thorn is with the Sport Management Program, Xavier University, in the promotional build to UFC 173, for example, was Cincinnati, OH. Address author correspondence to T. Christopher the nationality of the two fighters as American Chris Greenwell at [email protected]. Weidman squared off against Brazilian Lyoto Machida. 533 534 Greenwell et al. Other times, the physicality and violence inherent in the influences public interest in sports such as soccer (Mutz sport take center stage as it did in hype videos leading & Meier, 2016). to Bellator 131: Ortiz versus Bonnar and UFC 195: Physical attraction may play a bigger role when Lawler versus Condit. The promotion of female fighters female athletes are featured. For example, in a recent has, at times, tapped into the physical attraction and/or study of Twitter conversations, Hancock, Calabrese, sex appeal of the competitors in addition to athletic and Greenwell (2014) found conversations about male portrayals. Case in point, promotional materials for the MMA athletes tended to be based on the athlete’s talent, UFC’s all-female edition of The Ultimate Fighter em- whereas conversations about female athletes were more phasized the physical attractiveness of the women along likely to be based on a combination of the women’s with their athletic prowess using taglines such as “Heart talent and attractiveness. Further, research has shown Breaker/Bone Breaker” to emphasize the dual nature of advertisements featuring female athletes as endorsers are the female athletes. Similarly, a recent headline from the more often than not sexually suggestive in nature (Grau, U.K. Daily Mail “She’s a knockout! Don’t be fooled by Roselli, & Taylor, 2007). Consider, for example, the this undefeated female Mixed Martial arts fighter’s good Ladies Professional Golf Association golfer Lexi looks” illustrates how female athletes are often evaluated Thompson posing topless with only a golf towel on both attractiveness and talent (Cliff, 2015). stretched over her chest for the May 2015 cover of Golf Sex and violence in advertising can improve mem- Digest magazine. NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and ory for products (Ferguson, Cruz, Martinez, Rueda, & tennis star Anna Kournikova are known as much for Ferguson, 2010) and enhance their appeal (Fried & their looks as they are for their success as athletes, due in Johanson, 2008); however, there are questions about large part to endorsement opportunities and media pre- using violent themes to promote women’s MMA as their sentations featuring each in hypersexualized roles. Even participation in a violent combat sport challenges tradi- Ronda Rousey, the face of the UFC, was featured in a tional gender roles (Greenwell, Hancock, Simmons, & Carl’s Jr. advertisement for a breakfast sandwich posi- Thorn, 2015). Similarly, the use of sexuality in adver- tioned as a “knockout with a sweet side,” and in 2016, tising may be problematic as it may undermine their she bared all for Sports Illustrated’s famed swimsuit accomplishments as athletes. For example, UFC fighter issue wearing nothing but body paint. Mike Brown stated that if he were to pay to see women There is theoretical support for why physical attrac- fight, they should at least be topless (Holland, 2014). tion influences behaviors. The physical attractiveness Brown’s comment not only sexualizes female fighters stereotype suggests people who are seen as attractive but also suggests that many people still do not see MMA are assumed to possess other desirable traits (Dion, as an acceptable activity for women. Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Langlois et al., 2000), and With the inclusion of female athletes in combat attractiveness can positively influence judgments (e.g., sport, questions of how to market female athletes have Cialdini, 1984; DeShields, Kara, & Kaynak, 1996; become a critical issue. As current research does not McColl & Truong, 2013; Raza & Carpenter, 1987). adequately address how different representations of However, physical attractiveness has been found to women in violent sport may affect how the athletes and be less effective when the product being advertised is the events in which they compete are viewed, there is a not attractiveness related (Baker & Churchill, 1977; need for additional research to understand the best ways Brumbaugh, 1993; Caballero & Pride, 1984; Trampe, to market female athletes in combat sport. Therefore, this Stapel, Siero, & Mulder, 2010). study seeks to understand how sport consumers view women competing in violent sport and how different presentations affect consumers’ attitudes. From a prac- tical perspective, results from this study should help the Gender Roles in Sport marketing efforts of those promoting women participat- Gender is the “socially constructed roles, behaviors, Downloaded by Ebsco Publishing [email protected] on 10/14/17, Volume 31, Article Number 6 ing in sports, which defy traditional gender roles. activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women” (World Health Organization, 2011, para. 1). Gender roles are shared Physical Attraction beliefs about the attributes of men and women (Eagly, 1987). For example, women possess (or are expected to Physical attraction is an important contributor to con- possess) communal characteristics such as nurturance, sumer attitudes as evidenced by the role sexuality plays kindness, submissiveness, expression/emotion, and in marketing. This issue has been well documented, with compassion (Eagly, 1987). Men, on the other hand, are research finding that physical attractiveness of athletes expected to be more agentic–assertive, dominant, ag- is one of the most important factors for a potential gressive, instrumental, and independent. Sports are often product endorser (Cunningham, Fink, & Kenix, 2008; labeled as “masculine” or “feminine” based on social Fink, Cunningham, & Kensicki, 2004; Ross, Ridinger, constructions of gender roles and stereotypical expecta- & Cuneen, 2009). Physical attractiveness has also tions associated with those roles (Koivula, 2001). been found to be a significant motivator of sport Metheny (1965) suggested masculine sport is char- consumption