Where are the female athletes in Sports Illustrated? A content analysis of covers (2000–2011)

Abstract

We content analyzed more than 11 years of Sports Illustrated (SI) covers (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011) to assess how often females were portrayed, the sports represented, and the manner of their portrayal. 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 4.9 percent of covers. The percentage of covers did not change significantly over the span and were comparable to levels reported for the 1980s by other researchers. Indeed, women were depicted on a higher percentage of covers from 1954-1965 than from 2000-2011. Beyond the limited number of covers, women's participation in sport was often minimized by sharing covers with male counterparts, featuring anonymous women not related directly to sports participation, sexually objectifying female athletes, and promoting women in more socially acceptable gender-neutral or feminine sports.

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

“…From determination, focus, competitiveness, confidence, skill, and pride, therefore, it is hoped that print media are beginning to give female athletes the respect they deserve. Prior research shows that media outlets frequently exclude female athletes from lead stories and headlines found in national sports media (Daniels, 2008;Daniels, 2009;Duncan, 1990;Hardin, Lynn, & Walsdorf, 2005;Kane, 1996;Koivula, 1999;Lapchik & Mathews, 1999;Leath & Lumpkin, 1992;Leath & Williams, 1991;Messner, 2002;Perdersen & Whisenant, 2003;Primm, Preuhs, & Hewitt, 2007;Weber & Carini, 2012). In spite of the all-pervasive nature of sports in American culture, media seem to ignore the significance, contribution of, and importance of inclusion for women athletes (Davis, 1997;Urquhart & Crossman, 1999).…”

“…Data presented in the current study is As highlighted in the Primm, Dubois and Regoli (2007) study, sport magazines are important to study because evidence of inequality is unmistakable in media exclusively dedicated to sports news coverage. Therefore, magazines such as ESPN the Magazine and Sports Illustrated are perfect resources for examining visual images because of their potential to be powerful vehicles for perpetuating specific representations of athletes (Weber & Carini, 2012).…”

“…Many researchers have found women's sports to receive strikingly less coverage than men's, even when women happen to constitute the majority of a sport's participants (Bishop, 2003;Duncan & Messner, 2005;Fink & Kensicki, 2002;Duncan, 1990;Hardin, Dod, & Lauffer, 2006;Koivula, 1999;Kuhn, 1985;Lumpkin & Williams, 1991;Martin & McDonald, 2012;Messner & Cooky, 2010;Messner & Duncan, 2005;Salwen & Wood, 1994;Weber & Carini, 2012). When media comment on women's sports, female athletes may well be referred to in either a sexual manner or demeaning manner (Kane, 1988).…”

Mujer y pintura deportiva: La Colección del Consejo Superior de Deportes (España) / Women and Sport Painting: Collection of Superior Council of Sports (Spain)

“…se ofrecen imágenes con una gran potencia visual y con una iconografía propia. Con la coartada de la audiencia y la rentabilidad como primer valor, difunden y amplifican una imagen del deporte centrada en la práctica y logros masculinos, ignorando e invisibilizando, salvo escasas excepciones, la práctica deportiva femenina (Weber y Carini, 2012).…”

“…La escasez de trabajos sobre el carácter de las representaciones de la mujer en el ámbito, y concretamente, sobre la ideología que se desprende de dicha representación, reclama que se realicen estudios sobre la imagen que se ofrece de la mujer en contextos deportivos, y cómo esa imagen señala aspectos que, en muchos casos, no tienen que ver con la práctica deportiva. Así, el hecho de que la mujer sea o no representada practicando deporte, el escenario y el rol que se le asigne, la indumentaria, la actitud, etc., todo ello responde a una determinada visión de la relación de las mujeres con el deporte que, lejos de ser neutra, suele estar cargada de prejuicios (Duncan, 1994;Wanneberg, 2011;Weber y Carini, 2012). La perspectiva de análisis podría abarcar diferentes ámbitos, pero por diversos motivos que se irán presentado, nos centraremos aquí en las desigualdades derivadas de la ideología de género y veremos el modo en el que la pintura de temática deportiva refleja esas desigualdades.…”