During the 2016 Summer Olympics, the media was slammed for its sexist coverage. Some examples include a broadcaster describing a women's judo match as a “cat fight,” another calling a swimmer's husband "responsible” for her gold medal, and the constant comparison of a top woman athlete to her male counterpart.
And though the 2018 Winter Olympics are just kicking off, spectators have already seen some of that kind of coverage. Snowboarding superstar Chloe Kim is being called the "the Shaun White of women’s snowboarding" by Sports Illustrated. That same article lists the fact that Kim "will not let romance get in the way of gold" as the number three thing you should know about her.
Jessica Luther, a freelance journalist covering sports and culture and co-host of the podcast Burn It All Down, says the biggest problem is that female competitors are "so rarely first seen as athletes. They are always positioned in some way as a woman, and then second they get to be athletes."
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This segment is hosted by Tanzina Vega
