Professional paper

OBJECTIFICATION OF THE FEMALE BODY IN SPORT EVENTS

Nikola Mijatov orcid.org/0000-0002-6499-4484 ; Institute for Contemporary History, University of Belgrade
Sandra Radenović orcid.org/0000-0002-0979-421X ; Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade
Miloš Marković orcid.org/0000-0001-9150-0390 ; Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade

Abstract

For more than a century, there has been an objectification of women in the
form of cheerleading in sport events. Far from the center of those events, prurient
shows of cheerleaders are a peripheral part of a sport event and contribute to
the empowerment of the cult of the body in contemporary sport through its
sexualization while the reason is surely a profit that goes to the organizers of those
events. However, a different approach is possible and authors state an example
of the basketball club Alba from Berlin, the management of which had decided,
after 25 years, to stop the practice of cheerleading during the time-outs of the
matches. The management stated the reason for the fact that the appearance of
young attractive women cheerleaders is not convenient today because the club
strives to promote women in sport as basketball players who could be a role
model for the youth. A similar reason why they do not have cheerleaders could
be found amongst some clubs from the National Football League in the USA.
Mentioned examples should encourage a broader interest for this issue from the
complex sphere of sport bioethics, permanent and normalized objectification of
women through cheerleading that should not be a part of modern society.

Keywords

female body; sporting events; objectification; bioethics of sport

Hrčak ID:

249735

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/249735

Publication date:

6.12.2020.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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