You are in:
The fine line.....
The fine line between sport and show business has all but been erased it seem.
Something that comedian Bradley Walsh ommented on recently in the national press when talking about the end of his professional football career and his move into comedy and drama. The consumer just can’t get enough of sport in the showbiz spotlight and where one ends and the other begins is often so difficult to distinguish It’s an uneasy partnership in many ways. This, due to the nature of what the public at large now actually considers entertainment. Much of it calls for the negative, dumbing down and stereotypical portrayal - What was once the domain of the red top media is now fair game for all and sundry it seems and anyone and anything is open to unbridled criticism or ridicule.
Whether it is seemly for an Olympic athlete or national sporting hero to appear in pantomime was an issue that once would have been unthinkable. It simply didn’t happen. They stuck to sport and were adored (or loathed, depending on loyalties). Sponsorships were afforded to those who earned them based on their performance in the arena. That was then. Now, it is not enough to win the glittering prizes through competitive action. Perhaps it owes much to those who took the name Gazza and printed it on everything from t shirts to tea towels. At the time a much debated documentary questioned whether this was real sporting recognition or the first step in personal exploitation. For some, especially those who cannot cope with the scrutiny that comes with the spotlight, the price of such fame may be just a little too high.
There is a great deal to be said about how we perceive and how we judge. For women in sport particularly this has always been an issue. The "having it all" ideal has never quite worked favourably and women achievers have been questioned over their rightful place, motives and even sexuality. When a cute Chrissie Everett graced the courts at wimbledon every schoolgirl copied her all American ponytail, ribbons and pretty style. Jennifer Aniston owes much to that trend setting appeal. Different story for Martina Navratilova who simply did not fit the feminine stereotype and despite her outstanding skills was not truly accepted until a makeover created a more appealing image. Sport succumbed to these shallow values too long, but the fitness lifestyle we are selling so heavily has changed all that surely, with so many women achievers to aspire to?
So it was with absolute horror that I, along with a great many others it seems, witnessed Dame Kelly Holmes criticised on television for her sporty appearance. Apparently, she deserved lower marks for a daring ice skating performance because her athleticism made her look "like a man in drag".
And so women’s achievements as sporting winners and icons went back about 10 years in a matter of minutes. In the context of the Olympic arena, the physique to win two gold medals clearly is not an issue. But sport stereotyping still requires either the personality or more simply the looks to enter the consumer comfort zone. A new golf publication is unashamedly "selling" its sport to men via the gratuitous use of lad’s mag imagery of women. Yet disregarding the fact that top players such as Michelle Wie and Erica Blastberg are beautiful women. They, like Anna Kournikova and many others though often play the eye candy trivia game to gain the media spotlight for their sport and sponsors. How we "sell" sport is a dilemma. Genuine fitness, function and technique is integral to the success of high tech product, but with kids being denied competitive awareness and media being the longed for arena, small wonder that fashion, popularity and outrageous headlines are the currency of the moment. Lauren Fox, Editor
