Sports Blog Review:
womenssportsnation.com/
womentalksports.com
womenssportsinformation.com.
Reviewed by Narissra Punyanunt-Carter and Stacy Carter
Texas Tech University
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Richard Harris (2009) states that, “media sports are a part of everyone’s consciousness today, even those who have no interest in sports themselves” (p. 119). Sports are a big attraction for both male and female. A growing trend of sports fanatics is the use of sports blogs. Yet, research in this area has been somewhat limited. Blogs are a new and important communication medium for those who have an opinion about sports and provide a fascinating place to observe and consider gender tendencies in language use.
Sports blogs are specific websites where individuals with common interests in some sport or sporting event can talk to each other through typed messages. These blogs serve as a medium for people to express their opinions with other fans or rivals overtly yet anonymously.
Sarah Pedersen (2005/2006) notes that more women are writing blogs compared to men on the Internet. Further, women are more likely to read and create blogs than any other Internet based communication tool. She believes that other Internet based communication tools have more male users. Hence, women may feel threatened and may not disclose as much via other Internet communication outlets when compared to male counterparts. Blogs allow women a safe medium to communicate with others about similar viewpoints.
Women and their language use regarding sports blogs can be seen in various websites such as womentalksports.com or womenssportsinformation.com. Women’s sports blogs seem very similar to men’s sports blogs although some topics such as fashion in sports may be more common among women bloggers. Also, one Internet site, womensportsnation.com, works similar to a book club where the blogging is focused around a book selected monthly with a sports topic. Overall, women discuss facts and statistics that are very similar to their male counterparts. At the same time, women tend to be more supportive and encouraging with other bloggers’ comments than men. Men tend to criticize and attack opposing ideas. Women tend to communicate their indifference in a more compassionate tone.
Galen Clavio (2008) notes that both men and women are attracted to sports blogs. Women are more likely to discuss and blog about women dominated sports such as gymnastics, figure skating, and synchronized swimming. Women talk more about women athletes, such as Michelle Wie, Mai Hamm, and Marion Jones, whereas males will blog more about male dominated sports, such as golf, football, and wrestling. Males will frequently talk about Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Derek Jeter.
Walter Gantz and Lawrence Wenner, (1991) suggest that men and women differ in the ways they approach, watch, and react to televised sports. For example, men seem to respond and behave more like involved fans than women tend to do. This is indicated in the blogs as well. Men will express their disdain for a losing team or their excitement for a winning team, such as “Germany rocks!”. Women, on the other hand, are more inclined to rationally respond to certain aspects, such as stating things like “They tried hard!” and “I know they will win next time.” Women are less graphic and less vulgar in their language in blogs compared to men.
James Angelini (2008) notes that male athletes are often portrayed as strong and competitive, while their female counterparts are often portrayed as more emotional and passive. Women are also more likely than men to be portrayed as sex-objects. This finding is noted in blogs. For instance, Danica Patrick did several commercials with several sexual undertones. Many female bloggers were outraged by this fact, but male bloggers loved it. It is evident that female athletes are not viewed similarly to male athletes even in blogs. To conclude, based on research on sports blogs, one might assume that the way that a sports fan appreciates and thinks about sports might also influence the way in which they blog.
References
Angelini, J. R. (2008). Television sports and athlete sex: Looking at the differences in watching male and female athletes. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(1), 16-62.
Clavio, G. (2008). Demographics and usage profiles of users of College Sport Message Boards. International Journal of Sport Communication, 1(4), 434-444.
Dearstyne, B. W. (2005). Blogs: The new information revolution? Information Management Journal, 39(5), 38–44.
Gantz, W., & Wenner, L. A. (1991). Men, women, and sports: Audience experience and effects. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 35, 233-243.
Harris, R. J. (2009). A cognitive psychology of mass communication (5th ed.) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Perderson, S. (2005/2006). `Women Users‘ motivation for establishing and interacting with blogs. International Journal of the Book, 3 (2), 132-136.