Sacrificing Dignity for Publicity: Content Analysis of Female and Male Athletes on “Sports Illustrated” and “ESPN the Magazine” Covers from 2012-2016

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess changes in how often female athletes were portrayed on the cover when compared to male athletes. A content analysis of the manner by which male and female athletes were depicted on sports magazine covers from 2012-2016 was performed. A total of 245 cover pages taken from two top sports magazines, Sports Illustrated and ESPN: The magazine were used to analyze depictions of individual male and female athletes. Despite females' increased participation in sport since the enactment of Title IX and calls for greater media coverage of female athletes, women appeared on just 10 percent of the covers compared to male athletes. Data show that the percentage of female athletes on the sports magazines covers did not change significantly over the span of five years and were comparable to levels reported by other researchers. Beyond the limited appearance on sport magazine covers, female athletes were shown in sexually objectifying poses, seductive eye gazes, scantily clad clothing, and sexy/inviting body poses while male athletes are often seen in their team uniforms depicted in active, game playing athletic motions associated or related to his sport. It is concluded that male athletes are still portrayed in ways which support hegemonic ideas of masculinity.

Racing for Representation: A Visual Content Analysis of North American Running Magazine Covers

“…In contrast, the vast majority of male counterparts were depicted with t-shirts and were only shirtless on 27% of the covers. This result suggests that there is a relationship between gender and clothing worn by athletes on magazine covers, which aligns with previous research that found female athletes objectified and sexualized by the clothing they wore in comparison to their male counterparts (Frisby, 2017). It should be noted, however, that in this study there was no statistically significant difference between active and passive poses seen in males versus females, which has been previously documented in other studies (Fink & Kensicki, 2002).…”

“…By highlighting adherence to hegemonic beauty rather than emphasizing athletic qualities, these magazines reify socially constructed gender roles and undermine the inroads they have made to diverse representation of female athletes (Fink & Kensicki, 2002). Frisby (2017) recognized the impact that these images may have on young girls, who may interpret the images of partially dressed athletes as the ideal to gain media attention. These findings can have further implications as pointed out by Weber and Carini (2013), who noted that women portrayed in this type of manner can send the message that athleticism and skill are not enough, and that female athletes must emphasize their beauty or sexiness.…”

Exploring adolescent girls’ experiences of body talk in non‐aesthetic sport

“…This suggests the sport context mirrors the cultural milieu theorized to lead to self‐objectification (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), such that a girl's body is an object to be viewed and valued by boys. The boys' decisions to make objectifying comments directly to the girls may come from seeing women athletes objectified by the media (Frisby, 2017; Kaskan & Ho, 2016). Importantly, girls who internalized the importance of being sexually attractive to boys experience higher body surveillance and shame (McKenney & Bigler, 2016), which may in turn contribute to negative sport experiences (Pila et al, 2020; Sabiston, Pila, et al, 2020).…”

Media Representations as a Form of Stacking: Male and Female Athletes Featured on Men’s Magazine Covers, 1980–2019

“…Additionally, the study analyzes positions played by baseball and football players, assessing whether magazine covers reproduced stacking patterns. To date, studies of athletes featured on magazine covers have focused primarily on Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine (Fink & Kensicki, 2002; Frisby, 2017; Goss et al, 2010; Hull et al, 2015; Martin & McDonald, 2012; Primm et al, 2007; Salwen & Wood, 1994; Wasike, 2017; Weber & Carini, 2013), with additional analyses of Women’s Sports and Fitness (Leath & Lumpkin, 1992) and Shape (Hardin et al, 2005). Rarely have scholars examined athlete portrayals in other genres, especially in regard to mediated sport and position stacking.…”