I was thinking about the debate on the comments pages here regarding the amazingly brave women who are rowing their way across oceans and a question it raised about the media.
Does the press and internet give men and women the same attention and coverage for doing the same thing?
To give a specific example, in the Vendee Globe, do the British male competitors like Brian Thompson, Steve White, and Jonny Malbon get more, less, or the same coverage as the British women competitors Dee Caffari and Sam Davies?
Not whether this is right or wrong, or what the reasons are, just what are people's perceptions of the coverage in the various media following the event.
So have created a poll to the right to ask the question of whether Ecover would get more coverage if Mike Golding was Michelle Golding - or would it be just the same.
Interested to hear what your views are.
(And hope this isn't considered too controvercial)
5 comments:
No, it's not too controversial. But yes, it is news because she's a woman and for a woman to accomplish something like this is extremely rare. There's always some man pushing the envelope of possibilities, but it's not that often we get to see a woman get out of her comfort zone and take a big risk, especially involving physical endeavors. If it weren't so unusual, it wouldn't be a big item.
From my perspective (Australian female) I'm just glad to see yachting receiving publicity. Not that I'd be putting my hand up for single-handed sailing, even in Sydney Harbour. In the past, I raced in the harbour with two competent women as crew. I do think, however, that the pic of spinnaker and bikini gave a wrong impression of the challenges facing all of the Vendee fleet.
Sam Davies Sam Davies Sam Davies ROCKS!
Sorry, what was the question?
Whatever is uncommon or unexpected is news. Women have been under-represented in sailing, especially in extreme racing events, so any pioneering effort will get media attention.
Thanks for all your comments - will post a reply when the poll ends
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