Sister of sports media scholar @bpmoritz writes about gendered Olympic coverage. https://t.co/hRPmvkzfhd
— Amy Moritz (@amymoritz) August 10, 2016
Look, we all know why the Chicago Tribune did it. I don't believe there was ill intent, or an overt misogynistic agenda. The generous view is that they were trying too hard to make a connection between the event and local readers' interest. The cynical view is that they were trolling for clicks.
I know why they did it. I completely understand why they did it.
That doesn't mean it's OK.
To spell it out: It's wrong to identify a woman Olympic medalist solely by her relationship to her husband. End of story. It perpetuates the male-dominated hegemonic view of the sports world. It implies that Corey Cogdell is first and foremost a wife, not an Olympian. Men are never so starkly defined. When Mike Fisher scored the game-winner in Game 4 of the Western Conference semis this year, headlines in sports sections didn't say "Carrie Underwood's husband scores winner."
What's frightening about this debate is that there often seems to be an unwillingness of one side to concede the other's point of view. Because it was done to "make a local connection" or "provide readers with local content," it's understandable, and understandable equals OK. But it's not OK. It's not the equivalent of the things Donald Trump says, but it's still not OK. The majority do not get to tell a minority group what is and isn't offensive.
We're at a time in sports culture where we're starting to have important conversations about gender, about coverage of women's sports, about understanding the double standards that have long been a part of the industry. But part of any conversation is listening.
It's fine to look at that tweet and say "That doesn't seem sexist to me. They're trying to get clicks." That's certainly a valid interpretation. But when somebody says "I think that's sexist," the appropriate reaction is not to mansplain away the Tweet, but to say "Really? Why?"
We don't have to agree, but we have to ask the questions and listen to each other.