an article for me and my blog buddy

What We Don’t See: The Underrepresentation of Minority Women Athletes Many of the issues are compounded when we consider the intersections of race, physical/mental functions, and sexuality. In media coverage of women in sport, the absence of minority women supports the traditional belief that sport is solely for white, heterosexual, non-disabled women.
In the U.S. sports media, women of color receive considerably less coverage than their white female counterparts and are often depicted in a racially stereotypical manner. For example, of the 151 CN/WS&F magazine covers published between 1975 and 1989, only 12 pictured women of color, all Black women, and only 8% of the featured articles were written about Black women with nearly 70% of these articles focused on track athletes or basketball players (Leath and Lumpkin, 1992). In reviewing 13 editions of CN/WS&F published between 1997 and 1999, I found no women of color on the cover and only 21% shown in the photographs accompanying sport articles.
Another group that is practically ignored by sport media is women athletes with disabilities. When media do feature these athletes, the focus is usually on the drama surrounding the athlete’s disability than on their athletic abilities and the competition. CBS’s four-hour coverage of the 1996 Paralympic Games was the first and longest U.S. broadcast of disability sport. However, while some of the Paralympic telecast could be considered empowering and positive, other aspects reinforced negative and demeaning stereotypes about people/athletes with disabilities (women athletes as asexual, pitiful, and less than elite) (Schell and Duncan, 1999).
Many people question whether a woman can compete in sport and retain her femininity—a term often equated with heterosexuality. So, when a female athlete is called “dyke” or “lesbian” in a derogatory manner, she may alter her actions and dress to be “more feminine,” downplay her athletic talents, or avoid sport all together. The growing media and commercial interest in women’s sport have helped to reinforce stereotypic perceptions of women athletes as lesbian, while reiterating fundamental misperceptions of lesbians or female athletes as negative identities.
Because sexuality (specifically heterosexuality) sells in America, sport media and advertisers are likely to distance themselves from women athletes who are believed to be, or who do self-identify as lesbian. Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Missy Giove, and Muffin Spencer-Devlin are among the professional athletes who have risked their public reputations and sponsorships by revealing their sexual identities. Unfortunately, media rarely explore the experiences of lesbians in sport, and women’s sport allies often remain silent or deny that homophobia is an issue that deserves public attentio