Today, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have gained significant prominence as a means of sports coverage. Such apps feature short video clips, with open comment sections allowing fans to discuss their opinions. However, as of recent, gendered cyberhate is being perpetuated more than ever.
Specifically, given the global development of women’s football and its magnitude on social media, it is inevitable that high profile female footballers would be subject to sexist hate and violence online. Despite many being naïve to this concept, contemporary society is still patriarchal, with sexism being prevalent in all corners of life. Sport is just one of the traditionally male-dominated spheres by which women are often treated unequally to their male counterparts.
Therefore, it is crucial that sports journalists, reporters and commentators, who control the moods and feelings of audiences and shape public perception, must ensure to report on all athletes the same, regardless of gender differences.
This is something Sky Sports recently failed to do. Despite their intentions “to create a space alongside [their] existing channel for new, young, female fans”, Sky Sports recently faced extreme criticism on the launch of their new TikTok channel, Halo. The content, which was broadly felt as sexist and patronising, has since been removed after just three days.
“to create a space alongside [their] existing channel for new, young, female fans”
The channel, labelling itself as Sky Sports “lil sis”, produced, what viewers felt was, gender stereotyped and infantilising content, that undermined great efforts over the past 50 years to put women’s sport in the spotlight. Recipients of the content felt strongly that women do not need separate spaces for sport coverage, with pink glowing text, explaining the content in condescending and basic terms.
This is just one example of how misogyny still manifests in sport coverage. Joey Barton, former professional footballer and manager, was widely condemned for his series of highly publicised sexist comments, primarily directed at female broadcasters. Barton commented on X “women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game”, stating “it’s a completely different game”. This segregation and attempt to diminish women in the sport industry, is extremely damaging for both women’s position in sport and society.
It is the hope of many, that as women continue to thrive in sports, misogynistic attitudes are eliminated. As the public become educated on the realities of women’s sporting abilities, regardless of preconceptions they may hold, women’s achievements should become more widely celebrated, acknowledged and accepted as equal to men’s. Sports such as football need to prove, now more than ever, that it is truly a game for all, rather than attempting to campaign with no substance or meaning. In our modern age, we should all be able to aspire and thrive, without being subject to gender biased hate and indifference.