New guidelines aim to stop sexualised shots of female athletes on TV

Sexualised camera angles and slow-motion replays of female competitors will be prevented under new European broadcasting guidelines for athletics coverage.

The revised guidelines, titled “Raising the Bar”, set out by the European Broadcasting Union aim to ensure the avoidance of compromising camera angles which could be perceived as sexualising individuals competing in women’s track and field events.

Executive Director of EBU Sports, Glen Killane, said: “The sexualisation of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts.

“Lingering shots on bodies, low-angle cameras that capture revealing views, and excessive slow-motion replays that serve no technical or storytelling purpose are among the issues observed in the media coverage of women’s athletics competitions today.”

First-hand experiences of Olympic athletes Holly Bradshaw, Ivana Spanovic and Blanka Vlasic were taken into account when drawing up the guidelines.

The EBU are aware “respectful” angles may not always be possible due to the speed of athletes’ movements, but they believe broadcast teams should always strive to portray competitors “fairly, accurately, and with respect”.

Former British pole vault star Bradshaw, who won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020, 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.

“I first-hand have received social media abuse and witnessed inappropriate videos online of myself and colleagues when slow-motion content of us competing is captured.

-news.au.com