Women and Sport An Examination of Advertisements Between 1950 and 2002

Un documentpublit par I;,Rcsociation the continuation of an equity man- canadienne pour l'avancement des date that relies on the perpetrators of fmmesdanslessports (ACAFS)aimerait If Sports Illustrated's sexism to modify their behaviour, voir les athlktes pminines attirer without recognizing that they have a &vantage l'attention &S mtdias. Cette WomenlSport is financial stake in maintaining the assertion pose probhme quand on sait the benchmark for current system. que h publicite' autour des athktes To support my assertion that the canadiennes tend h normaliser kur woman-centred current sports-media publicity sys- imageaugozitdujouretconstquemment sports media tem is not a favourable climate for reconfirme qui et quoi est conside'rt coverage, then women athletes, I will present the fhinin ou masculin. results of my preliminary research on perhaps it is better the history of Canadian women in In 1999, the Canadian Association for the sports sport in advertisements. M. Ann Hall for the Advancement of Women in has argued, "the history ofwomen in Sport and Physical Activity media to continue sport is a history of cultural resist- (CAAWS) and Nike Canada organ- ignoring women. ance . .. the very presence of women ized a "Women in Sport" sympo- in the male preserve of sport is evi- sium. Two key recommendations dence of leaky hegemony" (101). that emerged were a need to increase While it is important to acknowl- media coverage of women athletes SportsZllustrated~Women/Sportis the edge the transgressive nature ofwom- and increased levels of corporate benchmark for woman-centred en's participation in sport, it does sponsorship for women athletes. sports media coverage, then perhaps not necessarily follow that a high- Recently, The Woman's Television it is better for the sports media to profile athlete will challenge the Sports Network (WTSN) was continue ignoring women. popular discourse of femininity. I launched in Canada as a women's In this article, I will argue that contend that the representation of version of The Sports Network "adding women in" to the male- the "celebrity" woman athlete in ad- (TSN). It is worth noting, however, dominated and male-created profes- vertisements has functioned to nor- that in 1997 the "women's version" sional sport-media complex will not malize their images within the dis- of Sports Illustrated, Women/Sportwas be progressive for women athletes. It course ofthe times and consequently launched in the United States with creates a space for women in an reconfirm who and what is consid- dubious results for women in sport androcentricsystem, but atwhat cost? ered malelfemale. (cited in Rounds). Kate Rounds sur- Sydney Millar and Bryna Kopelow's The methodology for decon- veyed Women/Sport for Ms. maga- position paper for CAAWS, structingthe ads will draw on Latour's zine and found anything but equal "Through a Gender Lens", acknowl- notion of inscriptions. In his essay opportunity sports coverage. Women/ edges, "in pictures, females should "Drawing Things Together," Bruno Sport featured stories on a pregnant be portrayed with dignity and mod- Latour develops a theory of history WNBA star, on a woman who was esty, especially with regard to cloth- qua visualization that argues histori- horrified to discover a baseball ing, body position and camera an- cal change can be understood by teammate was gay and on a profes- gles." However, taking a position examining "simple modifications in sional tennis player who was retiring against the objectification of the fe- the way in which groups of people to become a "full-time wifen(22). male athlete in the media, while at argue with one another using paper, Not surprisingly, an evaluation of the same time endorsing increased signs, prints and diagrams" (21). A the "men's" version of Sports Illus- participation in a media system that change in worldview is literally seen trated yielded no stories on "new continues to objectify women, does as a change in "how a culture sees the dads," or about a male athlete be- not translate into change or action world, and makes it visible" (30) I coming a full-time husband (22). If on behalf of women. Instead, this is will look at the visual cues in selected

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 3 der, colour, ethnicity, class, sexuality and physical abilityn (107). Sport is particularly divided along gender lines, and men are the normative standard by which women's sports are judged (Felshin 190). Sport is a system identified with male "self- actualization," and participation of females has been seen as anomalous (Felshin 182). The identification of sport with masculinity means that the benefits and attributes accorded to athletes, such as teamwork, mus- cularity and sweat can be seen as anomalous to femininity. Like Burstyn, Jan Felshin's research is part of a body of work on the sociology of sport that considers its relationship to power structures. Felshin argues that as a consequence of the identification of sport with masculinity, woman athletes have tended to develop an "apologetic" to compensate for their participation. Felshin argues:

the apologetic suggests that the woman athlete can appear femi- nine .. . is feminine, which has to do with sexual normality and attractiveness as well as so-called advertisements and ask, has there preexisting athletic accomplishment. "lady-like" behaviour, and wants been a change in "worldview" re- Ads are social texts that both con- to be feminine, which means flected in the representation of Ca- tribute to and make manifest the that social roles are valued more nadian woman athletes in advertis- discourse on masculinity and femi- than sport roles, and life goals ing over the last fifty years? ninity. Advertising's "appeal to the include marriage and mother- I have selected four ads as repre- consumer is indirect" (Millum 11). hood rather than being a cham- sentative of the women athlete in Instead, "advertising discourse is so- pion athlete. (204) Canadian advertisingsince 1950. The cial communication in that it draws first, a print ad from 1950 features on an existing stock of images and Notwithstanding the seriousness Barbara Ann Scott selling Timex knowledge and speaks to the con- of her participation in sport, "the watches. The second from 1970 sumer about the product by way of importance of femininity as a social shows Nancy Greene for Jergen's social message which will be readily assumption for women requires that skin lotion. Finally, I will discuss two understood (Millum 11). I will ar- those athletes who value social ac- more recent ads: a 1992 IBM televi- gue that the interplay between the ceptance deny it [sport] and affirm sion ad featuring Silken Laumann woman as athlete and the woman as that they are real women with femi- and a 2002 Cheerios cereal box fea- a "readily understood" social mes- nine goals and interests" (Felshin turing Catriona LeMay Doan. What sage has resulted in an emphasis in 204). The "feminine apologetic" will makes these four athletes particu- the ads on the femininity of the be the theoretical concept applied to larly appropriate to my study is their athletes. my deconstruction of three ads as high profiles during the eras in which Varda Burstyn seeks to deconstruct social texts. they were and are popular. Each ad all that appears to be apolitical and Femininity is a culturally sanc- dates within one or two years of the harmless about sport. Burstyn ar- tioned ideal ofwomanhood, but it is athlete's greatestvictory. This means gues that sport is part ofthe system of neither determinate nor unitary that the women's representation in social reproduction, and its struc- (Smith 37). Instead, femininity is an advertisement plays off of her tures "re-stratified along lines ofgen- contingent upon place and time and

78 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME it is "intelligible only in the context of the complex of which" [it] "is part" (Smith 37-38). The ideal woman of post-war Canada was thought by many to be embodied in the person of Barbara Ann Scott. Media stories about Scott, the 1948 European, World and Olympic women's figure skating champion, exhaust themselves in their descrip- tions of the athlete. A 1948 Time magazine description extends to a paragraph:

Barbara Ann, with a peaches- and-cream complexion, saucer- size blue eyes and a rosebud mouth, is certainly pretty enough. Her light brown hair (golden now that she bleaches it) falls page-boy style on her shoulders. She weighs a trim, girlish 107 Ibs., neither as full- bosomed as a Hollywood starlet nor as wide-hipped as most skat- ers. She looks, in fact, like a doll which is to be looked at but not touched. But Barbara Ann is no fragile mamet. She is the wom- an's figure skating champion of the world. ("Ice Queen" 35)

This description notes that "Barbara Ann" is a champion, but after pouring over her appearance with exquisite attention to detail, does it matter that she is talented? Figure skating, more than other sports, lends itself to the discourse on femininity. Abigail Feder argues that due to its "element of theatre, figure skating provides more opportunities for adornment and display,- - those familiar tropes of femininity with which the .. . public is comfortable" (26). Barbara Ann ~COTToperated within this system and thus her par- ticipation in sport was not wholly transgressive.The headline of a post- war Timex ad reads "Like Men - Active Women Need a Rugged Watch." This Timex Marlin watch advertisementfeatures two photos of Barbara Ann Scott. The larger shows her in her figure skates, jumping into the air and smiling at the camera.

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 3 The second photo is an image of the as Jergens hand cream to Pontiac images of Greene are featured in the skater washing dishes, once again her GM cars to Mars Bars. Following her ad. The first and smallest features head is turned toward the camera 1967 and 1968 World and Olympic Greene posing holding her skis over and she smiles out at the viewer. Championships for downhill skiing, her shoulders. The second shows Scott's smile and gestures are rigid Greene's manager Doug Maxwell Greene in asun suit, rubbing Jergen's and banal. Ostensibly, Scott is en- told Chatelaine in 1970 that he was lotion into her skin. The third and gaged in other activities, yet her out- unsure she would be able to secure largest shows Greene made up, in a ward gaze connotes display. Scott is any endorsements because her "im- dress (neither too casual, nor too not doing the dishes or skating for age lacked glamour" (MacDonald fancy) and she seems to be arranging herself; she is doing them for her a bouquet of flowers, and smiling at viewer. the camera. Greene's presence in this Erving Goffman argues that ads ad, her gestures, clothes and props rely on "gestural internalization of (flowers, lotion) are meant to con- what can be taken to be inner re- While it may be note femininity. sponse" (27). In the Timex ad Scott's true that Greene Femininity is written on to smile conveys her complicity and captured the Greene's body in order to make her pleasure, with the roles she is ac- conform to the marketing message corded. The ad copy claims that the imagination of of Jergens lotion. First, by removing Timex Marlin is "Waterproof * Canadians, it Greene from her skiwear, she be- Shock-Resistant * Dustproof' and comes more recognizably feminine that "throughout her busy, active does not discount and most importantly, more like eve- day-at home or on the ice- the need ryone else. Greene's body is of an Barbara Ann Scott uses and depends marketers felt acceptable size and type; however, by upon the Timex Sportster . .. just as removing- it from the context of ski- doctors, engineers, seamen, farm- to normalize ing, her non-conformity is demysti- ers-men in every walk of life. .." Greene's image. fied and normalized. Second, by plac- (Milton and McCutcheon 22). The ing Greene in conventional front- liberal and egalitarian tone of the ad facing poses her repertoire of athletic belies its narrow prescription of the poses are excised and replaced by the kinds of activities which are appro- 52). Maxwell attributes Greene's en- more economic, controlled and con- priate for men and women. The roles dorsement success to the athlete's trived poses ofadvertising. Language available to men are stated outright ability to "win over" Canadians also plays a part in feminizing the in the ad's copy. By contrast, wom- (MacDonald 54). While it may be message ofthe Nancy Greene Jergens en's roles are implied through the true that Greene captured the imagi- ad. Jergens lotion is said to keep visual imagery. On one side stand nation ofcanadians, it does not dis- Greene's "hands soft and smooth. Barbara Ann and other women (fig- count the need marketers felt to nor- Her complexion fresh and natural ure skaters, dish doers, smilers and malize Greene's image. As John looking" (Chatekzine 8).No connec- watch wearers seem to be the poten- Berger argues, "publicity is not merely tion is made between the softness of tial activities the ad outlines). On an assembly of competing messages: Greene's skin and the swiftness with the other side, of course, are the it is a language in itself which is which she skied to the gold medal. "doctors, engineers and seamen." always being used to make the same There is no connection. Janice Scott's representation in this ad be- general proposal" (131). This pro- Winship argues that the placement lies the fact that she herself made an posal limits the transformational pos- of women's hands in advertising is income on par with "doctors, engi- sibilities of women to that which key to the construction offemininity neers and seamen" and consequently they can purchase, display and im- (26). Consequently, Greene no it can be said to be consistent with prove in and for themselves. longer grasps her ski poles, but gen- any "typicaln image of the 1950s Greene was featured in a 1970 tly holds the skin lotion. Finally, housewife. Jergens ad that reads: "Why Mrs. Greene's body becomes an ornamen- Even a ~otentiall~appositional Raine loves Jergens just as much as tal surface. She performs femininity reading of an athlete's body can be Nancy Greene does" (Chatekzine 8). by putting on a dress, posing for the transformed via advertising.- Such is The ad explains how both housewife camera and casually arranging some the case for women who participate Mrs. Raine and skier Nancy Greene flowers. This final picture is reminis- in "non-traditional" sports, such as love to use their Jergens brand hand cent of the ideal housewife role downhill skier Nancy Greene. lotion to keep their skin soft, reveal- Barbara Ann Scott performs in her Greene, whose name and face were ing in the end that Nancy Greene is Timex ad. While Greene's role as an used to sell such divergent products Mrs. Raine! (Chatekzine 8). Three athlete is not excised from these ads,

80 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME the photographs and text emphasize step forward from the Barbara Ann The three ads are putting the ath- her conformity. Scott ad where Scott is competent at letes' expertise to the test. Thewomen It is remarkable how similar the two things, skatingand dishwashing. are required to demonstrate their style ofthe Greene and Scott ads are. A deconstruction of the ad does competency in other ways, and this Each shows images of the athlete not necessarily have to be a negative directs attention away from their performing her sport, at the same reading of its depiction of women. bodies and on to more common time as performing more traditional However, an examination of the tropes of femininity, as well as onto feminine duties. A 1993 Silken purpose of the ad shows that it relies the product. The use of a woman Laumann ad for IBM personal com- on dominant ideas of what women athlete as a spokesperson legitimizes puters shares with the Scott and her success, but at the same time, the Greene ads a focus on women's ac- ads constantly remind us that these tivities. Both Scott's and Greene's athletes are "just" women. The Scott, ads play on the duality of their roles. Greene, and Laumann ads are three Scott is a skater and a housewife- The use of a among several found to depict celeb- figure and Greene is the skierlhouse- woman athlete rity Canadian woman athletes. The wife. Laumann's challenge in the as a spokesperson ads selected for this paper compli- IBM ad takes a 'battle of the sexes' ment one another, but are by no approach to addressing the athlete's legitimizes her means anomalous in comparison to unusual competence in sport. The success, but at other ads found. The feminine apolo- television ad opens with Laumann getic is the ubiquitous characteristic and "Bill Meyer" standing side by the same time, of the majority of ads featuring side. Laumann is holding oars and the ads constantly woman athletes. Meyer is standing beside a compu- remind us that While advertising changes with ter. The voice over says "we've asked the times, there are limits to this these experts to tell us which is easier: these athletes are change. An historical shift might be getting into a boat or using the IBM "just" women. evident in a comparison between an PSI1 personal computer . .. we'll also ad for a Timex watch featuring ask them to trade places." Laumann Barbara Ann Scott from the 1950s and Meyer switch, Laumann sits and an ad for Chrysler cars featuring down at the computer hesitantly and are capable of. The ad is supposed to Catriona LeMay Doan in 2002. says "I don't know if I can do this demonstrate that using a personal However, this kind of shift works very well.. ." while Meyer smiles and computer is easy, accessible for all .. . within the closed system of represen- gives a thumbs up to the camera. A even women! The dynamics of the tation ofadvertising, whereby "every black screen appears with the words ad would change if both of the "ex- publicity image confirms and en- "five minutes later." Next, Meyer is perts" were women. Would it be so hances every other" (Berger 131). falling in the water, struggling to funny for a woman not to be able to Janet Lee regards normative shifts even stand or sit on the boat, while get into the boat? The humour ofthe within media representations of Laumann is clicking away at the com- ad is located in the sex difference women as a recurring phenomenon. puter, looking up information on between Laumann and Meyer. It According to Lee, the "new woman" boating. may reverse traditional tropes offemi- appears whenever someone has some- A number of possible interpreta- ninity by putting Laumann's exper- thing- new to sell to women-be it tions of this battle of the sexes ad are tise and ability on par with a "com- "clothes, careers or contraception" possible. The most obvious is that puter expert." However, it also relies (168). Accordingly, women are using the PC is easy, much easier on the viewers' prior knowledge of "urged to change . .. into the 'new than rowing. Another interpretation sex differences to be humourous. In woman' of the moment, by adopting is that rowing is hard, but Laumann addition to this, "Bill Meyer" is a whatever definition of liberation or is adept at both. The battle of the caricature and an ineffectual oppo- modernity is current" (168). Lee's sexes interpretation shows the not- nent for Laumann. Even if Meyer analysis allows us to see the connec- so-confident woman coming out on were serious competition for tion between the shifts in advertis- top, while the over-confident male Laumann, her expertise at the com- ing's use of the woman athlete and makes a fool ofhimself. Apro-woman puter is accounted for via the ad's changes in the discourse of feminin- reading of the ad is possible, as it message, that using an IBM personal ity. The woman athlete adds a ten- shows awoman working competently computer is easy. sion to the discourse of advertising at a computer. It also depicts Lau- What all three ads have in com- and becomes the "new woman" used mann as an expert at sport and com- mon is a preoccupation with the to sell the latest product. petent with machines, certainly a female athlete and her "expertise." This qualitative overview of three

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 3 81 ads featuring Canadian woman ath- dian sporting institutions. Despite ing Bodies. Windsor: Human Ki- letes suggests that there has been no the limited parameters of this re- netics, 1996. significant change in the "worldview" view, CAAWS' suggestion that "Ice Queen." TimeFebruary2,1948: depicted in advertisements. At the women seek more funding or media 35. 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic games, coverage should be carefilly consid- Latour, Bruno. "Drawing Things Canadian women athletes "brought ered. The mass media is not in the Together." Representation in Sci- home" more medals than their male business of promoting social change. enttJcPractice. Eds. M. Lynch and counterparts. CatrionaLeMay Doan If other government funds and do- S. Woolgar. Cambridge: MIT, was Canada's first medallist, win- nations are not available to women, 1988. 19-88. ning a gold in the woman's 500 m then corporate donations must be Lee, Janet. "Care to Join Me in an speed skatingevent. As LeMay Doan accepted onlywith the strictest guide- Upwardly Mobile Tango?" The crossed the finish line, CBC an- lines. For example, corporations Female Gaze. Eds. Lorraine nouncer Brian Williams exclaimed could contribute toward a fund for Gamman and Margaret Marsh- that she had "won another gold medal woman athletes, thereby avoiding ment. Seattle: The Real Comet for her husband." Advertisements the direction ofthe lion's share ofthe Press, 1989. 153-172. featuring Scott, Greene, Laurnann money to one celebrity athlete and MacDonald, Dawn. "Nancy Greene: or LeMay Doan cannot be consid- limiting the placement of individu- From Olympic Star to Happy ered without an understanding of als in advertisements. As Latour sug-- Housewife." Chatelaine January the milieu of which they are part. gests, a change in worldview means a 1970. Thus, LeMay Doan's appearance in change in the way that we represent Millar, Sydney and Bryna Kopelow. uniform on 2002 Cheerios boxes things. An examination of advertise- "Through a Gender Lens." Ot- must be interrogated in its social ments between 1950 and 2002 illus- tawa: Canadian Association for the context. On the one hand, this im- trates that images- of athletes con- Advancement of Women, 2000. age foregrounds LeMay Doan the tinue to privilege the woman over Millurn, Trevor. Images of Women. athlete. The speed skater is bent for- the athlete. London: Chatto and Windus, ward in racing position, in a unitard 1975. that covers her head. On the other jennifer Ellison is an M.A. candidate Milton, Steve and Barb McCut- hand, there are LeMay Doan's me- in the Women 2 Studies stream of the cheon. Skate: 100 Years ofFigure ticulously made-up cheek-bones and schoolof Canadian Studiesat Carleton Skating. Toronto: Key Porter lips, along with the curious promi- University. Her M.A. thesis traces the Books, 1996. nence of LeMay Doan's hands and, history of the Canadian woman ath- Rounds, Kate. "Tying the Score." in particular, a prominent wedding lete in advertisements since 1928. Ms. July/August 1997. 22. band. The use ofwoman Olympians Smith, Dorothy, "Femininityas Dis- in advertisements may be a space for References course." Becoming Feminine: The resistance to the feminine apologetic Politics of Popular Culture. Eds. because of her dual role as an athlete Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Lon- Leslie Roman and Linda and national symbol. However, the don: British Broadcasting Corpo- ChristianpSmith. London: The Cheerios ad indicates the limitations ration and Penguin Books, 1972. Falmer Press. 37-59. of the woman athlete as national Burstyn, Varda. The Rites of Men. Winship, Janice. "Handling Sex." symbol, given its place on the con- Toronto: University of Toronto Looking On. Ed. Rosemary tinuum of the feminine apologetic. Press, 1999. Betterton. New York: Pandora The Scott, Greene, Laumann and Chatelaine.January 1970: 8. Press, 1987. 25-39. LeMay Doan ads are part of my Feder, Abigail. "A Radiant Smile larger study on the history of Cana- from the Lovely Lady." Women on dian woman athletes in advertising. Ice. Ed. Cynthia Bauman. New Factors such as the athlete's role as a York: Routledge, 1995.206-233. national symbol need to be interro- Felshin, Jan. "The SocialView." The gated further. Moreover, my search American Woman in Sport. Eds. J. for Canadian woman athletes in ad- Felshin, E. Gerber, P. Berlin and vertising has yielded only one ad W. Wyrick. Reading, Mass: featuring a woman of colour, Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., 1974. Charmaine Crooks. Thus, race must 179-210. be examined further in order to ex- Goffman, Erving. Gender Advertise- plain the absence of women of col- ments. Cambridge: Haward Uni- our from advertising, and the role of versity Press, 1979. racial (and other) barriers in Cana- Hall, M. Ann. Feminism and Sport-

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