sports
Molly Miller, ‘pretty privilege’ and women’s basketball’s beauty trap
Arizona State’s head coach has turned around a losing program. Unsurprisingly, much of the discourse on the internet was not based on her leadership skills
TL;DR
- Molly Miller was hired as Arizona State's head coach to improve the team's performance and end a drought of NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Miller successfully led Arizona State to a 24-11 record and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years.
- Despite her coaching success, online discourse, particularly on platforms like TikTok, focused heavily on Miller's physical appearance, a common trope for women in sports.
- This pattern of evaluating women based on looks over merit is a long-standing issue in sports, seen in marketing campaigns and media coverage.
- The article highlights similar experiences of other women in sports, such as journalist Taylor Rooks, who face assumptions that their success is due to attractiveness rather than skill.
- Misogyny, objectification, and 'pretty privilege' are presented as systemic issues that undermine women's legitimacy and progress in sports organizations.
- The commentary suggests that these distractions are intentional, designed to reinforce narratives that diminish women's capabilities and delay acknowledgment of their rightful place in professional sports.