Follow Up Entry--Women's Golf

Golf has been an enjoyable pastime for women and men for a long time, but has become more popular in the last five years. One reason for this sudden increase in viewers is the young, female athletes. Successful female golfers, such as Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis, have taken women's golf by storm. Natalie Gulbis, in particular, was the youngest female golfer to qualify for the LPGA at the age of 14. At 18, she was on the pro tour and started to woo fans with her sex appeal. The image below is one of many that sexualize Gulbis by showing her in a swimsuit on a golf course.

Gulbis says, "I see myself as an athlete and just try to market myself as a feminine athlete." This type of mindset relates to the postfeminist perspective Carty discusses in her article. Gulbis tries to display herself as an empowering female and expresses her femininity on and off the course to deconstruct gender differences. Although the female golfer feels this way, this particular image defends radical feminism, which believes that images take away from the athletic achievements of the female and portrays them as sexual objects. Another interesting thing I noticed was the clothing worn by female golfers. On the men's PGA tour, the male golfers must wear pants and often times wear loose fitting shirts. On the LPGA tour, however, women are encouraged to wear skirts and tight fitting shirts. The image below is of Gulbis stretching with her golf club, but it also features her chest. How do the differences in clothing rules fit into America's view of male and female athletes?