Name: Tilda Sutter

Social Justice Group: Sports and Equality

Date of Fieldwork: December 6, 2017

Name of Organization: The Olympics and 80s Aerobics Videos

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Kate Grace – Olympian Runner and (her mom) Kathy Smith – Former 80s Aerobics Instructor

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

I interviewed Kate Grace and Kathy Smith over skype about their personal experiences of being a woman in sports. Kate Grace is a professional runner who competed in the 2016 Olympics. She also runs in other competitions. Kathy Smith was one of the most known 80s aerobics instructors. Both had to overcome a lot of sexism in their work, and they both are experts on what it’s like to be a female athlete now.

What I learned:

I learned about how much sponsorships can impact an athletes career in a positive or negative way. Women tend to have much of a hard time finding sponsors that pay them equally as the men. Sponsors tend to look for men, and then advertise the men, making more people watch the men’s games than women’s. On the contrary, some brands such as Oiselle have chosen to only sponsor female athletes.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that in many cases of inequality, one of the most important steps to achieving equality is to change the culture surrounding sports. There is no doubt that more people watch men’s sports than women, but it’s not because they think the men are superior, it’s just because the men’s sports are advertised more. Because more people watch men’s sports, sponsors sponsor the male athletes and then they end up making much more money than the women.