Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Saturday, July 24, 2004

More emphasis on sex in the WNBA. First it's Lauren Jackson. Now it's Heather LaBella. LaBella, the Director of Tactical Marketing for the LA Sparks, is Playboy's Employee of the Month in the current issue where she poses topless. "We're always thinking of new ways to boost awareness," Jerry Buss said.

MJ

Mechelle Voepel interviews Jackson about the effect of her posing nude on the American media. "Since I did the nudie shots, they're loving me," Jackson said.

MJ

Voepel's take on selling women's sports with sex -- "It's pandering, even if unintentionally, to an audience that isn't comfortable with women unless they're sexualized."

MJ

Some things never change. "Some references to the female athlete in terms of her attractiveness or her sexual desirability was found in over half of the articles analyzed in this study." MJ Haverbeck's master's degree thesis in journalism on Treatment of Women Athletes By Selected Pennsylvania Newspapers and U.S. Magazines published in 1976.

MJ