New TV Broadcasting Union Guidelines Aim to Crack Down on Sexualization of Female Athletes

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has released a new set of best practice guidelines for filming female athletes during broadcasts, sparking widespread reactions on social media.

The Details: Titled "Raising the Bar: Guidelines for Respectful Media Coverage in Women's Athletics," the new guidelines aim to push back against the sexualization of female athletes. The 23-page directive was the result of an EBU collaboration with track-and-field athletes Holly Bradshaw, Ivana Španović, and Blanka Vlašić.

For Context: The EBU is an alliance of public service broadcasters headquartered outside the European Union in Switzerland. Notably, it is the overseer of the Eurovision Song Contest. American broadcasters such as ABC, CBS, NBC, and NPR are associate members of the union.

Key Quotes: Glen Killane, Executive Director of EBU Sports, said, "The sexualization of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts." Holly Bradshaw said, "How our sport is displayed during live broadcast can be incredibly powerful yet sometimes harmful to the women competing and the women/girls watching… Many athletes, myself included have been in competitive scenarios where they are more focused on the cameras instead of their own performance." She also said she has seen "inappropriate videos" of herself online.

Social Media Reactions: The story was very widely discussed on X, primarily among conservatives. Instead of framing its story around the report, Fox News (Right bias) framed its story around social media reactions to it. It prominently said the new guidelines "drew mockery" and were "under scrutiny." Fox highlighted many widely viewed X posts in its coverage. One post said, "With all due respect why not just give female athletes longer shorts." Another said, "i can already hear the crying of porn addicts."

A self-described "progressive" user, "Alexander August," said, "There's a deep sickness here which Trads are blind to. The forces that wage War on Eroticism don't register pornography as a threat - but candid photos of beautiful athletes are. Have you ever asked yourself why that is?"

How The Media Covered It: The story was not widely covered by mainstream media outlets. A post by the British entertainment news website Dexerto (Not rated) was widely circulated on X, and ZeroHedge (Lean Right) republished Dexerto's news coverage on its site.

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