The Olympics is a man's world - or so the media would have us believe. While women have been competing in the Games since 1900, reporting seems to be languishing in some kind of Mad Men era. Women's athletic abilities and achievements have been ignored to make way for headlines about their weight, clothes - and husbands. Welcome to Rio 2016.
It's not just the competitors who have borne the brunt of this criticism, as the furore over presenter Helen Skelton's skirt shows. That Helen has legs appeared to come as a shock to many Twitter users, who were outraged that a humid, 28-degree pool in Brazil might warrant a skirt above ankle-length. Of course, no comments were made about Mark Foster’s tight shirt, and the frankly distracting flexing of his pecs. No snide remarks were made about the fact he had his legs out - and no one suggested that maybe this flash of thigh made up for his annoying voice. No one felt the need to comment on Mark, because he is a man.
Not that men have been absent in the reporting of women’s achievements at the Games, of course. Husbands receiving praise for their wives' achievements has become a familiar trope. Not a fan of trap shooting? You're probably now familiar with the name Corey Cogdell-Unrein anyway - but only because it was conspicuously absent from The Chicago Tribune’s headline about her medal win. After describing her a “Wife of a Bears' lineman”, the paper was roundly called out on Twitter - @KashannKilson’s brilliant quip “You spelled ‘3-time Olympian Corey Cogdell-Unrein wins second bronze medal today in Rio Olympics’ wrong” earned over 20,000 retweets. NBC commentator Dan Hicks also attracted criticism for focusing on Katinka Hosszú’s coach and husband. After she smashed the world record in the 400-metre individual medley for swimming, winning gold, he was quick to pan to the 'man of the moment': “There’s the man responsible for turning his wife into an entirely new swimmer.”
Corey shot her gun and Katinka swam her race. They won those medals, not the men in their lives. Twitter users came out in force to express the same sentiment - but is this storm enough to drown out the sexism of mainstream media? While the Tribune apologised for its tweet, Hicks defended his coverage, saying "It is impossible to tell Katinka's story accurately without giving appropriate credit to Shane, and that's what I was trying to do".
And so the sexism continues. When papers haven't been praising female athletes’ partners, they’ve been intent on comparing them to their male counterparts. Women take note: being a man is where it is at. Katie Ledecky was complimented for “swimming like a man” and the Daily Mail referred to her as the “female Michael Phelps” - as if this were the highest possible praise. Even when women are gold medalists, they are always told that in striving to be better, they must try to be more like a man. The message that women are second class citizens is pervasive, exhausting, and especially damaging to young girls.
A recent study by Cambridge University Press has found that male athletes are three times as likely to be discussed in a sporting context as women - and when women are mentioned, they are likely to be described based on their age, marital status, or appearance. In Rio, the wave of sexism seems to have reached new heights - and it threatens to wash away the fantastic achievements of the female athletes. While the coverage of London 2012 was by no means devoid of sexism, it felt like a cause for celebration. Team GB contained more women than ever; the Spice Girls spread their message of girl power at the closing ceremony; and its legacy in initiatives such as the 'Like a Girl' campaign seemed to open the doors for girls in sport.
In Rio, it seems we've taken a step backwards. But hopefully what we can take away from this year's games is that while misogyny is still deeply entrenched in mainstream media, we're no longer willing to take it lying down. 20 years ago, no one would have batted an eye at the headlines we’ve seen this summer. Now, we're seeing a strength of feeling on social media that has a real chance of changing the tide on how sporting events are reported. We can only hope that in 2020 we'll see coverage that focuses on women's achievements over their husbands or appearance - or that at least mentions Mark Foster's legs.