Sporting a New Look

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Action Images
When asked about a famous action sports shot, this picture is the first that popped into my head. It is one that is hanging in the basement of my house, along with many other sports related images. My family as been avid Alabama fans since before I was born; in fact, my mom was having contractions with me while the SEC championship was on in December of 1992, but my parents didn't go to the hospital until after the game was over (Bama won, and I still claim that must make me a lucky charm). This picture,  titled "The Kick," features kicker, Van Tiffin, attempting a 52 yard field goal with only 6 seconds left in the rival game against Auburn. He made it, and the Crimson Tide won 25-23. Believe me, I've heard the story told many times because Dad was watching the television as it happened. Across the nation, Alabama fans still herald this image as the most famous kick in Alabama football. I love this picture because it captures the action of the shot while maintaining the tension of the unknown. An Auburn player is in the air. Does he block it? The kicker is mid-kick. Has he yanked it left or right? The spectators can be seen, blurred, in the background, standing motionless, waiting. In essence, I believe that this picture shows all the sports media used to embody: the experience and the action. Now, however, it is shifting to a more sexualized, more erotic view of the human body. 

The Body Shift: Technical to Sexy
Until recently, the human body in sports photography was appreciated more for its ability to perform difficult technical skills than it was for how it looked while performing. Now, the body is being praised for its physical beauty as it performs muscular feats. For example, after a Google search with the key words "Male Athlete" in images, the first picture was one of a man running without a shirt and with clearly defined abs. The website held the title of "Hottest Male Triathletes of 2008." 

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Instead of being lauded for his triathlon time or for his ability to adeptly participate in many different sports, this young man is being looked at for his appearance while competing. This is completely opposite from the picture below. 

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This shot features Michael Phelps as he competes in one of his many Olympic races. However, Phelps is pictured on the front of magazine covers like this: 

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Gender Differences

Women, however, have been objectified sexually in sports for years. As the Rowe said in his chapter "Framed and Mounted: Sport Through the Photographic Eye," women are more frequently photographed as displaying some kind of emotion or outside of their sport. Rarely are they pictured while in action, if they are featured at all. One of the questions raised in the article was, "Is the shift towards viewing men sexually a move towards gender equality?" I would like to raise that one, too. But I would also like to ask how can society get more recognition for women in sports? Some say they aren't because they don't sell, but if the media decided to sell them, then maybe women's sports would begin to be just as popular as men's. 

Women can be just as intense as men. Take Serena Williams for example.

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Or Shawn Johnson. 

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Both of these women have incredible skills that can also be captured in photograph. What would it take for our society to recognize the beauty of the skills outside the sexuality of a physically fit body?