In many women’s sports it is almost impossible to make a living through athletic competition alone. In less-mainstream sports like kayaking or sky diving, compensation comes almost exclusively from sponsorships. That requires a track record for getting media coverage, and the fastest route is to expose a little flesh. Better yet, a lot.

Men don’t have to do that. Superstar male athletes are typically celebrated for their skills while female competitors draw excessive attention for their looks, said Mary Jo Kane, executive director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at theUniversity of Minnesota.

Using sex to market female athletics may excite young men but turns off most serious fans, she said.

“Sex sells sex,” Ms. Kane said. “It doesn’t sell women’s sports.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/fashion/31mancino.html?pagewanted=2