Since Day 1 of the Rio games, Olympic fans have been channeling American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, taking the proverbial foil to media outlets for their disappointing coverage of female athletes.
There's been plenty to critique, beginning with NBC commentator Dan Hicks crediting Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu's husband/trainer as "the man responsible" for her world-record performance on the opening day of competition. That was just the first in an ever-widening pool of sexist remarks from media all over the globe - a pool as troubling as that mysteriously green diving pool.
In print and on television, female athletes have been reduced to their relationships to men, whether it be a coach, a husband or a similarly skilled male athlete. We've seen their athletic accomplishments glossed over in favor of conversations about their hair, makeup, nail polish or love lives. One Olympic star was even asked if she'd rather win a medal or be thinner. For real.
You've likely already heard about a lot of these offenses as the pushback from fans, more "woke" media members and even some male Olympians has been loud and swift. From The Independent to The Guardian to Mashable to HuffPo, reporters have curated media missteps and resulting reactions, revealing a world that struggles to describe the female athlete in terms befitting her achievements.
Lindy West wrote a helpful guide to covering female Olympians in the Guardian last week, imploring media members, "Don't bring your sex feelings into it. ... There is not currently a vacuum of serious, well-rounded coverage of men's sports. There is not a historic precedent of men's bodies eclipsing their accomplishments, and, in turn, undermining their credibility and hobbling their upward mobility in every major industry. It is OK to have sex feelings. Just watch where you're spraying them."
Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, who joined me and advocate Jess Weiner on my That's What She Said podcast this week, knows about the challenges of being in the Olympic spotlight all too well.
"It's frustrating for female athletes," she said. "I always tell people that as an athlete, especially a female athlete, we want you to critique us. We want you to continue to nitpick and pull us apart, but do it off of our performances and off of our skills, rather than something that has nothing to do with our sports."
A study recently released by the Cambridge University Press analyzed "multibillion word databases of written and spoken English language from a huge range of media sources" and found that while male athletes are usually described in sporting terms, "language around women in sport focuses disproportionately on the appearance, clothes and personal lives of women, highlighting a greater emphasis on aesthetics over athletics."
Intentional misogyny is not always at the root of these offenses. Women have long been valued in society first and foremost for their appearance, and media has long portrayed women across all professions and industries through the male gaze. As a result, whether it's female scientists or female athletes, it can become almost instinctual to sexualize, regardless of how inappropriate the context. While we can all agree that Olympians are some of the fittest, most attractive people on the planet, their athletic achievements, not their looks, should be the focus of commentary.
The fact that sexualizing women is deeply embedded in our society doesn't excuse reporters. Part of the job must be to filter their initial reactions before putting them into words and sharing them. And more and more, fans are taking media to task for their failing filters. No phone calls or letters to the editor these days, a simple tweet (or several thousand) will do.
The tweets add up and have already forced some media members and outlets to issue mea culpas within days -- even hours -- of their remarks. While it's disappointing to see how widespread the sexist coverage has been, across all sports and countries, the pushback from viewers is a solid start toward correcting behavior.
One of the best parts of the Olympics is seeing female athletes given (nearly) equal air time to their male counterparts. Our nation becomes captivated with the athletic achievements of women who have spent their lives pursuing greatness. And while tone-deaf commentary may sometimes sour those moments, the lasting images, moments and memories are of the dominant athletic performances. Young girls grow up with Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky on the front pages and in their social feeds, replacing, even if oh-so-briefly, Hollywood starlets and reality stars.
There's work to be done to give female athletes the respect they've earned. But the fact that more and more people seem to be aware of the discrepancy in coverage and expect better from the media is a step in the right direction.