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A Quantitative Analysis of Photographs and Articles On Espnw: Positive Progress For Female Athletes - Communication & Sport 2015 Wolter
A Quantitative Analysis of Photographs and Articles On Espnw: Positive Progress For Female Athletes - Communication & Sport 2015 Wolter
A Quantitative Analysis
of Photographs and
Articles on espnW:
Positive Progress for
Female Athletes
Sarah Wolter1
Abstract
espnW is ESPN, Inc.s first initiative developed specifically for female fans and female
athletes. To date, no comprehensive analysis of photographs or articles on the
espnW website has been published. This study is a quantitative analysis of the first 6
months of photographs and feature articles of espnW to ascertain how the site
covers athletes and sports. Results reveal that female athletes are covered photographically in unprecedented ways from mainstream media on espnW, both in
frequency and in seriousness of coverage as measured by athletes in uniform, on the
playing surface, and in action. Additionally, feature articles portray female athletes as
serious competitors by highlighting athletic performance and psychological/emotional strengths instead of focusing on athletes physical appearance, family roles, or
personal relationships. Although some depictions mirror past representations,
where female athletes are represented more than male athletes in individual sports
and more at the recreational level of sport, these factors pale in comparison to the
number of factors that showcase female athletes as serious competitors.
Keywords
espnW, ESPN, Inc., sports, female athletes, sportswomen
Corresponding Author:
Sarah Wolter, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 West College Avenue, St. Peter, MN, 56082, USA.
Email: swolter2@gustavus.edu
Wolter
169
espnW is ESPN, Inc.s first initiative developed specifically for female fans and
female athletes created first as a blog launched in December 2010 and converted
to a website in April 2011 (ESPN Media Zone, n.d.a). The mission of the site is,
to serve, inform and inspire todays female athlete and fan (Lynch, 2011, para.
16)1. espnW contributors from various areas of the ESPN, Inc. enterprise write articles, blogs, and edit videos about both mens and womens sports and provide advice
for participating in sports and recreational activities on the site. The site operates as a
digital product suite, which means its primary platforms are pc web, mobile web,
and social media (Facebook and Twitter; Laura Gentile, Vice President of espnW
[video file] in Lynch, 2011). Four corporate partners signed on to support espnW
when the site was first created: Nike, Gatorade, Proctor & Gamble (specifically
Venus razors and Secret deodorant), and the Womens Sports Foundation (the official charity of espnW; ESPN Media Zone, n.d.b). Oakley and Colavita were added
to the list of official partners in 2011 and 2012, respectively (Hudak, 2012).
espnW was born out of research soliciting feedback from 2,000 women and 2,000
girls via home visits, one-on-one interviews, and quantitative research (Kane &
LaVoi, 2010). The women they talked to wanted more storytelling and to learn more
about the personal journeys and accomplishments of female athletes, similar to how
most media outlets cover athletes in the Olympic Games (Thomas, 2010). Laura
Gentile, Vice President of espnW, says the purpose for creating espnW was largely
about branding, The idea is potentially cultivating this fan base of womens sports
fans, where 10 years from now, girls are growing up truly feeling like ESPN is made
for them and ESPN is truly their brand (Thomas, 2010, para. 14).
At its inception, negative reactions to espnW were most vocal from female sports
bloggers who indicated the site smacked of condescension and segregation (Thomas, 2010, para. 4), with one blogger asserting, Women already have an ESPN. Its
called ESPN. The idea that women need a girlier version of sport programming is
insulting (DiCaro, 2010, para. 1314). Similarly, Michael Messner, sport sociologist, notes, Yes, its going to give womens sports fans a place to go, but it might
ultimately ghettoize womens sports and kind of take ESPN off the hook in terms of
actually covering them on its main broadcast (Thomas, 2010, para. 11).
To date, no comprehensive analysis of espnW photographs or articles has been
published. This study is a quantitative analysis of the first 6 months of photographs
and feature articles of espnW to investigate whether or not the site follows its
original intent of showcasing female athletes and male athletes at a 60%/40% ratio
(Kane & LaVoi, 2010). The purpose of this study is threefold. First, espnW is a new
site dedicated to women as fans and as athletes produced by one of the largest
(sports) media organizations in the world. Importantly, it is ESPNs first attempt
at a site dedicated solely to female athletes and fans, so I seek to see how they conceptualize female fans as an audience. Second, ESPN has a history of denying
female athletes television coverage (Messner & Cooky, 2010) and of sexual harassment of female employees, especially in the 1990s (Freeman, 2000), so I aim to discover whether or not espnW transcends this history to offer more positive portrayals
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of female athletes than they have in the past. Third, digital media is advanced as a
potential avenue by which to improve the media landscape for female athletes, so
this study is designed to see whether espnW as a digital product suite contributes
to portrayals of female athletes as competent sportswomen.
Review of Literature
Sports are a US$440US$470 billion per year industry (Plunkett Research, 2013),
spanning governments, educational systems, mass communication, businesses, and
athletes (Fuller, 2006). Even individuals who have never participated in sports themselves often emerge as fans passionately dedicated to players, teams, and coaches.
Sport is a socially constructed institution that changes according to cultural context
and affects institutions such as the family, religion, education, the economy, politics,
and the media (Coakley, 2009; Kraft & Brummett, 2009).
In an era when ESPNs top 100 North American athletes of the 20th century
includes only nine women (and three horses; ESPN, n.d.), womens role in the
institution of sport is still perceived by many as marginal to men (Coakley, 2009).
Dominant gender ideology in most cultures privileges men over women in activities
utilizing physical strength and skills and control of emotions (Coakley, 2009).
Hegemonic masculinity has been applied to numerous sporting contexts to
illustrate the dominance of masculinity in sport. The premise of this scholarship is
that sport has historically been considered a masculine endeavor due to characteristics needed for successful participation, such as aggressiveness, competitiveness,
superiority, mental and physical toughness, initiative, strength, power, and
confidence (Duncan, 2006; Mawson, 2006). The idealized sporting body, then, is
male, muscular, and aggressive, and comprises the standard against which all sporting bodies are measured. Men are naturally built for sport, which makes women
not naturally built for sport (Hardin & Whiteside, 2010). When women participate in sport and challenge hegemonic masculinity, then they are often met with
resistance. Resistance includes tactics such as (1) media coverage that does not
cover/underrepresents female participation in sports (Messner & Cooky, 2010) or
minimizes female athletes accomplishments through language in articles/commentary on games (Billings, Halone, & Denham, 2002) or (2) labeling female athletes as
lesbian and then stigmatizing this label (Hueter, 2011).6 This is important because
media portrayals have the potential to shape various publics views of womens participation (or media portrayals of the lack of participation) in sports (Kane, 2011).
Hegemonic masculinity frames the institution of sport; however, the institution
embodies multiple, complex meanings that are inconsistent with one another when
women challenge existing ideology in myriad ways (Coakley, 2009). Participation is
one example. Female athletes comprise 41.4% of the total high school athlete
population (National Federation of State High School Associations, n.d.) and
45.6% of the total Division I intercollegiate athletics population (NCAA, 2010),
numbers that are at an all-time high. U.S. female athletes outnumbered U.S. male
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athletes for the first time in history for the 2012 Olympic Games and earned 58
(55.8%) of 104 medals (29 of 46 gold, 14 of 29 silver, and 15 of 29 bronze) for the
United States (NBC Olympics, 2012).
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embrace sexy endorsers as much as other industries like film or music do (Huang,
2004). The last factor is a backlash from various publics against female athletes for
participating in aggressive, team-oriented sports like basketball and softball, which
have historically been the turf of male athletes (Huang, 2004).
The master narrative of media organizations is that sex sells female athletes,
though there is no empirical data to prove this is true (Kane, 2009, 2011; Kane &
Maxwell, 2011). Sex sells sex, not athletics, as evidenced by a study conducted
by Kane and Maxwell (2011) that reveals ambivalent images of athletes offend all
groups of consumers (men and women, all ages, all sport backgrounds). Sexualized
images do not increase interest in watching games on television, going to games, or
buying season tickets for any group (Kane & Maxwell, 2011). There is evidence that
nonprofit media may be better than for-profit media in terms of media representations, but women are still consistently underrepresented in multimedia, articles, and
covers (Cooper & Cooper, 2009; Kane & Buysse, 2005).
Whether or not sexualization of female athletes is beneficial for the athletes is
controversial. Many female athletes point out that they work hard for their bodies
and want to show them off to be marketable for both sport- and nonsport products.
These women claim their window of opportunity to be successful as an athlete is
minimal compared to other careers and thus they want to seize every opportunity
they can to earn sponsorship (Duncan, 2006; Huang, 2004).2 The alternative perspective is that revealing poses objectify women and place the focus more on female
athletes bodies than on their sporting abilities, which trivializes and marginalizes
the physical, emotional, and mental empowerment women gain from participating
in sport (Duncan, 2006; Mean & Kassing, 2008).
Media sexualization of athletes is not unique to women; however, male athletes
are presented by media organizations and commercial sponsors as sexy mostly
because of how they play, how many athletic skills they display, and how powerful
they are when they participate in their respective sports (Hardin & Whiteside, 2010;
LaVoi & Kane, 2011; Webster, 2009).3 Female athletes are presented as sexy
because of how they look off the field, not how they engage in their respective sports
(Hardin & Whiteside, 2010; LaVoi & Kane, 2011; Webster, 2009).
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one hand, digital media platforms offer a way to subvert traditional media and for
athletes and fans to advance their own more positive presentations of female athletes
than what appear in traditional media (Hardin & Whiteside, 2012; Hardin, Zhong, &
Corrigan, 2012). Athletes or fans produce content on digital media platforms, so they
have the opportunity to bypass sports organizations and media conglomerates to
shape discourse surrounding womens athletics (Hardin et al., 2012; Sanderson &
Kassing, 2011). Angela Ruggiero, U.S. hockey player, uses new media to promote
womens ice hockey and to connect with fans not typically targeted by the media like
young female athletes (Ruggiero, 2009).
On the other hand, many digital media platforms continue to reinforce female athletes as second-class citizens in the world of sports (Hardin, 2011). Analyses of websites associated with traditional media outlets reveal that narratives privileging White,
male, heterosexual athletes prevail (Dart, 2009; Mean, 2011; Oates, 2009). For example, Means (2011) analysis of ESPN.com from November 23 to December 2, 2009,
shows the site presented a narrow range of mens sports, excluding or sidelining other
sports, countries, and women in coverage. Another study of the 10 most popular sports
blogs shows male athletes receive significantly more photographic coverage and that
female athletes were more likely to be sexualized than male athletes (Clavio & Eagleman, 2011). Although fan-driven outlets like blogs offer potential to build community
based on the common interest of sport and to promote womens sport, a study of
female bloggers by Hardin and Whiteside (2012) showed that writers did not question
deep-rooted ideologies about why female athletes are marginalized compared to male
athletes and so the potential for a revolution in how female athletes are covered in the
media using these technologies may be slight.
Why female athletes continue to be marginalized in sports content online may be
because of the demographics of content producers. Hardin, Zhong, and Corrigan
(2012) point out that a lack of diversity among gatekeepers who maintain the blogosphere (mostly white men) mirrors gatekeepers in traditional media, who report on
what they assume viewers want to see: mens professional sports. Crouse (2013),
full-time golf writer for the New York Times, claims media organizations who rely
on page views and video clicks to determine content will most often feature mens
sports because those are the options from which viewers have to choose for content
in the first place. Crouse claims coverage of female athletes remains minimal
because the sporting public allows it (Crouse, 2013, p. 238).
Media portrayals of athletes are important because sport is one of the key places
where norms of gender are defined, circulated, and maintained. If media are going
to shape how girls and women perceive sport, assessing how media organizations,
particularly those that place female athletes and fans as their core audience, cover
female athletes, is important to help discover ways to remedy gender injustice in sport.
Research questions for this study include:
What types of athletes in terms of sex, sport, level of sport, and team/individual
sport are featured in photographs accompanying feature articles on espnW?
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Method
The method for this study was quantitative content analysis, which is defined as, the
systematic and replicable examination of symbols of communication, which have
been assigned numeric values according to valid measurement rules and the analysis
of relationships involving those values using statistical methods, to describe the communication, draw inferences about its meaning, or infer from the communication to its
context, both of production and consumption (Riffe, Lacy, & Fico, 2005, p. 25).
Contemporary content analysis is empirically grounded, which means text is
examined with the intent of discovering how individuals in our culture use that text
to govern their lives within the context of larger social systems (Krippendorff, 2013).
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Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for this study is hegemonic masculinity. Powerful entities
such as professional league executives and corporations with a financial interest in
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Results
First, I present results on what types of athletes are featured in photographs
accompanying feature articles on espnW based on frequency statistics related to sex
of athletes, sport depicted, level of participation, and team/individual sports. In this
section, I also report statistics on number of athletes in uniform, on the playing surface, and in action. Third, I turn to feature articles on espnW, reporting how contributors write about athletes using statistics related to game/nongame reporting,
reference to athleticism, and references to psychological/emotional strengths/weaknesses. I also report statistics related to athletes nonsporting lives (physical appearance, family roles, and personal relationships) referenced in espnW feature articles.
Photographs
For this study, I coded 437 photographs, 27% (n 118 of 437) of which were
categorized as lead story photographs and 73% (n 319 of 437) of which were
categorized as side story photographs (all articles besides lead stories). Most of
the photographs (82.6%, n 361 of 437) featured athletes only, except for 0.9%
(n 4 of 437) that were head coaches only, 3.7% (n 16 of 437) that were a
combination of a head coach and an athlete, or 12.8% (n 56 of 437) that were
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photographs of other individuals or objects (e.g., agents, league executives, game balls,
and trophies).
Sex of Athlete. The first research question for this analysis was, What types of
athletes (sex, sport, level of sport, team/individual sport) are featured in
photographs/feature articles on espnW? Female athletes only are featured in
68.0% (n 297 of 437) of photographs, male athletes only are featured in 12.4%
(n 54 of 437) of photographs, and both female and male athletes are featured in
the same photograph in 2.3% (n 10 of 437) of depictions. Of the lead story photographs, female athletes only comprise 71.2% (n 84 of 118) of the total and male
athletes only comprise 16.9% (n 20 of 118) of the total. Of side story photographs,
female athletes only make up 71.2% (n 227 of 319) of the total and male athletes
only make up 13.5% (n 43 of 319) of the total.
Frequency of Sports. The most frequent sport covered by espnW in all feature photographs is basketball, which comprises 20.4% (n 89 of 437) of photographs. Next is
soccer, which adds up to 14.9% (n 65 of 437) of photographs. Third is tennis,
which is featured in 10.1% (n 44 of 437) of photographs. Fourth is golf at
8.9% (n 39 of 437) of photographs, and fifth is baseball at 6.4% (n 28 of
437) of photographs. I present the distribution of sex for the top five sports represented in espnW photographs in Table 1.
Table 1. Sex of Athlete in Photographs of Top Five Most Popular Sports Represented on
espnW.
Sport
Basketball
Soccer
Tennis
Golf
Baseball
71/89)
54/65)
36/44)
34/39)
3/28)
(n
(n
(n
(n
(n
10/89)
1/65)
5/44)
5/39)
17/28)
Levels of Sport. Levels of sport in the coding schema were recreational, high school,
college, professional, Olympics, Paralympics, and not sure. Recreational sports
appear in 11.7% (n 51 of 437) of photographs, high school sports appear in 0.5%
(n 2 of 437) of photographs, and college sports appear in 9.4% (n 41 of 437)
of photographs. Professional sports were the highest number represented at 73.5%
(n 321 of 437) of photographs. Olympic athletes appear in 4.6% (n 20 of 437)
of photographs, and Paralympic athletes appear in 0.5% (n 2 of 437) of depictions.
Coders were unable to determine what level the athlete played in 0.5% (n 2 of 437)
of photographs. Table 2 shows the distribution of level of sport and sex.
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Table 2. Female and Male Athletes by Level of Sport Presented in Feature Photographs on espnW.
Level
of sport
Recreational
High school
College
Professional
Olympics
Not sure
Percentage of total
photographs bylevel of
sport that depict
female athletes only
62.7 (n 32/51)
0.0 (n 0/2)
80.5 (n 33/41)
71.0 (n 228/321)
80.0 (n 16/20)
100.0 (n 2/2)
Percentage of total
photographs by level of
sport that depict
male athletes only
3.9 (n
100.0 (n
9.8 (n
16.8 (n
5.0 (n
0.0 (n
2/51)
2/2)
4/41)
54/321)
1/20)
0/2)
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(n 274 of 297) of the total photographs of female athletes only. Male athletes in
uniform represent 100% (n 53 of 53) of the total photographs of male athletes
2
only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, w (1) 0.574,
p .45, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories of
both and N/A (photograph not of athlete) and ambiguous uniform presence
categories unsure if athlete is wearing a game uniform (including warm-ups) and
N/Aphoto is not of an athlete.
Pose Presentation. Pose presentation is measured by whether athletes in photographs
are exhibiting an active skill they might exhibit during their sport/game/practice
(e.g., shooting, passing, or running). Athletes are portrayed actively in 53.2%
(n 206 of 387) of photographs. Of the photographs where athletes are portrayed
as active, 84.0% (n 173 of 206) feature female athletes only and 13.6% (n
28 of 206) portray male athletes only. Female athletes portrayed actively represent
58.2% (n 173 of 297) of the total photographs of female athletes only. Male athletes portrayed actively represent 52.8% (n 28 of 53) of the total photographs of
male athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences,
2
w (1) 2.24, p .134, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex
categories both and N/A (photograph not of athlete) and ambiguous pose
presentation categories unsure and N/Aphoto is not of an athlete.
Court Location. Court location was coded for whether athletes were on or off the
court/field/pitch where the game/match/tournament they play is held. Overall, athletes are shown on the court/field/pitch 83.2% (n 322 of 387) of the time. Photographs of female athletes only represent 81.7% (n 263 of 322) of photographs of
athletes on the court, and photographs of male athletes only comprise 15.2% (n 49
of 322) photographs of athletes on the court. Female athletes presented on the court
make up 88.6% (n 263 of 297) of all photographs with female athletes only. Male
athletes on the court represent 92.5% (n 49 of 53) of all photographs with male
2
athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, w (1)
0.440, p .507, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories both and N/A (photograph not of athlete) and ambiguous court location
categories unsure of athletes location and N/A (e.g., cartoon of athlete).
Feature Articles
For this analysis, I coded 447 espnW feature articles (see Appendix for what constitutes a feature article) over the 6-month period for this study. Lead story articles
comprised 25.5% (n 114 of 447) of articles, and side story articles (all articles
besides lead articles) comprised 74.5% (n 333 of 447) of articles. The focus of all
articles was mostly the athletes only, which comprised 79.2% (n 354 of 447) of
articles. Head coaches were the sole focus of articles 0.9% (n 4 of 447) of the time,
articles featured a combination of athletes and a head coach 5.8% (n 26 of 447) of
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the time, and 14.1% (n 63 of 447) of articles fell under the category of other,
which were articles about other individuals (e.g., agents and league executives)
besides athletes or coaches.
Sex of Athlete. The first research question for this study was, What types of athletes in
terms of sex, sport, level of sport, and team/individual sport are featured in photographs/
feature articles on espnW? Overall, articles on female athletes only comprised 68.2%
(n 305 of 447) of articles, and articles on male athletes only comprised 12.5% (n 56
of 447) of articles. Both female and male athletes were the focus of the same article 9.4%
(n 42 of 447) of the time, and athletes were not featured in 9.8% (n 44 of 447) of
articles (mostly league executives or family members of athletes are the subject of these
articles). Of the lead story articles, female athletes only comprise 71.1% (n 81 of 114)
of the total and male athletes only comprise 17.5% (n 20 of 114) of the total. Of side
story articles, female athletes only make up 67.3% (n 224 of 333) of the total and male
athletes only make up 10.8% (n 36 of 333) of the total.
Frequency of Sports. The most frequent sport covered by espnW in all feature articles
was basketball, which comprised 19.0% (n 85 of 447) of articles. Next was soccer,
which added up to 14.5% (n 65 of 447) of articles. Third was tennis, which was
featured in 9.8% (n 44 of 447) of articles. Fourth were articles that covered multiple
sports at 8.9% (n 40 of 447) of articles, and fifth was golf at 8.7% (n 39 of 447) of
articles. Table 3 shows the distribution of the top five most popular sports and sex.
Table 3. Female and Male Athletes by Top Five Most Popular Sports Presented in Feature
Articles on espnW.
Sport
Basketball
Soccer
Tennis
Multiple sports
Golf
(n
(n
(n
(n
(n
66/85)
58/65)
37/44)
8/40)
34/39)
10.6 (n
0.0 (n
4.5 (n
7.5 (n
10.3 (n
9/85)
0/65)
2/44)
3/40)
4/39)
Levels of Sport. Levels of sport in the coding schema for feature articles were recreational, high school, college, professional, Olympics, Paralympics, and not sure.
Recreational sports were the topic of feature articles 11.9% (n 53 of 447) of the
time, high school sports 0.4% (n 2 of 447) of the time, and college sports 8.3%
(n 37 of 447) of the time. Professional sports were the topic of articles most often,
in 74.7% (n 334 of 447) of articles. Olympic athletes were featured in 4.3%
(n 19 of 447) of articles, and Paralympic athletes were featured in 0.4% (n 2
of 447) of articles. Table 4 shows the distribution of level of sport and sex.
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Table 4. Female and Male Athletes by Level of Sport Presented in Feature Articles on espnW.
Level
of sport
Recreational
High school
College
Professional
Olympics
Paralympics
Percentage of articles
by level of sport that feature
female athletes only
41.5 (n
0.0 (n
75.7 (n
71.0 (n
84.2 (n
100.0 (n
22/53)
0/2)
28/37)
237/334)
16/19)
2/2)
Percentage of articles
by level of sport that
feature male athletes only
0.0 (n
100.0 (n
10.8 (n
15.0 (n
0.0 (n
0.0 (n
0/53)
2/2)
4/37)
50/334)
0/19)
0/2)
Game/Nongame Reporting
The second research question for this study was, How do contributors write about
athletes in terms of game/nongame reporting, reference to athleticism, and
182
Percentage of game/nongame
reporting that depicts,
female athletes only
Percentage of game/nongame
reporting that depicts,
male athletes only
Game events
Nongame events
Training
81.8 (n 72/88)
77.2 (n 227/294)
16.7 (n 4/24)
12.5 (n 11/88)
12.9 (n 38/294)
0.0 (n 0/24)
Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, w (1) 0.062,
p .804, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories
both and N/A (article is not about an athlete) and ambiguous game/nongame
reporting categories articles on training and N/A (e.g., article about equipment),
and not sure.
Reference to Athleticism
The variables I coded to measure reference to athleticism in espnW articles were
athletic prowess or strength, athletic weaknesses/limitations, positive skill levels/
accomplishments, negative skill level/failures, psychological strengths/emotional
strengths, and psychological weaknesses/emotional weaknesses of athletes or
teams.
Athletic prowess/strength. In this study, athletic prowess/strength referred to general
athletic ability or skill rather than specific statistics or accolades related to the sport
(Kian, Mondello, & Vincent, 2009). An example of reference to athletic prowess
was, But she doesnt miss a lot. Its just tough to keep the same level as her . . . I
mean, nobody hits as hard as her. Nobody. Not even her sister (article 289, para.
8). Athletic prowess/strength is mentioned in 79.4% (n 320 of 403) of articles that
are about athletes, 79.4% (n 254 of 320) of which are female athletes only and
10.0% (n 32 of 320) of which are male athletes only. Athletic prowess/strength
is mentioned in 83.3% (n 254 of 305) of the total articles on female athletes only
and 57.1% (n 32 of 56) of the total articles on male athletes only.
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2
184
negative skill level/failures is, Yesterday the Prince, who was projected to be a top
pick, slipped to No. 19. Bowers, who was slated to go anywhere from No. 33 to 40,
got snatched up by Tampa Bay at No. 51 (article 11, para. 11). Negative skill level/
failures are mentioned in 22.8% (n 92 of 403) of articles that are about athletes,
73.9% (n 68 of 92) of which are female athletes only, and 16.3% (n 15 of 92) of
which are male athletes only. Negative skill level/failures are mentioned in 22.3%
(n 68 of 305) of the total articles on female athletes only and 26.8% (n 15 of
56) of the total articles on male athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show
2
significant differences, w (1) 1.780, p .182, between male and female athletes
excluding ambiguous sex categories both and N/A (article is not about an athlete) and ambiguous negative skill level/failure category N/A (e.g., article about
equipment).
Psychological Strengths/Emotional Strengths. The fifth variable I used to measure how
espnW contributors wrote about athletes was whether or not they mentioned psychological strengths/emotional strengths in an article. An example of psychological
strengths/emotional strengths was, Even when your quivering legs tell you otherwise, chances are youve got one more rep in you. Imagine that. Literally . . . When
you visualize an action, your brain develops a model of how it will go in the real
world. This allows you to recruit the muscles you need and perform more effectively
and efficiently when you actually do it . . . its a testimony to the power of the mindmuscle connection (article 14, para. 2). Psychological strengths/emotional
strengths are mentioned in 28.8% (n 116 of 403) of articles that are about athletes,
78.4% (n 91 of 116) of which are female athletes only and 6.9% (n 8 of 116) of
which are male athletes only. Psychological strengths/emotional strengths are mentioned in 29.8% (n 91 of 305) of the total articles on female athletes only and
14.3% (n 8 of 56) of the total articles on male athletes only. Pearson chi-square
2
test does not show significant differences, w (1) 3.656, p .056, between
male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories both and N/A
(article is not about an athlete) and ambiguous psychological strength/emotional
strength category N/A (e.g., article about equipment).
Psychological Weaknesses/Emotional Weaknesses. The sixth variable I used to measure
how espnW contributors wrote about athletes was whether or not they mentioned
psychological weakness/emotional weakness in an article. An example of psychological weakness/emotional weakness was, If the thought of free styling through
open, unlined, even murky water with 800 other athletes makes you queasy, rest
assured: Youre not alone (article 19, para. 1). Psychological weaknesses/emotional weaknesses are mentioned in 8.9% (n 36 of 403) of articles that are about
athletes, 75.0% (n 27 of 36) of which are about female athletes only, and 8.3% (n
3 of 36) of which are about male athletes only. This represents 8.9% (n 27 of
305) of the total articles on female athletes only and 5.4% (n 3 of 56) of the total
articles on male athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant
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2
differences, w (1) 0.375, p 0.540, between male and female athletes excluding
ambiguous sex categories both and N/A (article is not about an athlete) and
ambiguous psychological weakness/emotional weakness category of N/A (e.g.,
article about equipment).
Nonsporting Lives. The third research question for this analysis was, Are athletes
nonsporting lives in terms of references to physical appearance, family roles, or personal relationships referenced in espnW feature articles? The first variable coded to
measure this quantitatively was physical appearance, sexuality, attire. An example of a reference to physical appearance is, Ordinarily, Victoria Asarenkas blue
eyes sparkle. Sitting on her changeover chair in Arthur Ashe Stadium, they were
dead as she stared vacantly into the yawning void (article 296, para. 1). An example
of reference to sexuality was, COME ON!!!!!! McIlroy tweeted as his girlfriend,
Wozniacki, labored to avoid the upset. Six exclamation pointsso you know the
relationship between the two must be getting serious (article 306, para. 2). An
example of reference to attire was, from Tracy Austins pinafores to Serena
Williams catsuit, they can help define who the player is. In this era of big money,
ratings and stadiums, clothes can establish a connection with the crowd (article
311, para. 7).
Physical appearance, sexuality, or attire were mentioned in 31.3% (n 126 of
403) of articles that are about athletes, 77.0% (n 97 of 126) of which are about
female athletes only and 9.5% (n 12 of 126) of which are about male athletes only.
This represents 31.8% (n 97 of 305) of the total articles on female athletes only
and 21.4% (n 12 of 56) of the total articles on male athletes only. Pearson chi2
square test does not show significant differences, w (1) 1.006, p .316) between
male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories both and N/A
(article is not about an athlete) and ambiguous physical appearance, sexuality,
attire category of N/A (e.g., article about equipment).
Family Role, Personal Relationships. The second variable to measure whether athletes
nonsporting lives were referenced in feature articles on espnW was family role,
personal relationships. An example of family role, personal relationships was,
For many of these boys-turned-men overnight, their moms may become increasingly important sources of guidance and stability (article 13, para. 2). Family roles
or personal relationships are mentioned in 41.7% (n 168 of 403) of articles that are
about athletes, 76.2% (n 128 of 168) of which are female athletes only and 12.5%
(n 21 of 168) of which are male athletes only. This represents 42.0% (n 128 of
305) of the total articles on female athletes only and 37.5% (n 21 of 56) of the total
articles on male athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant dif2
ferences, w (1) 0.038, p .845, between male and female athletes excluding
ambiguous sex categories both and N/A (article is not about an athlete) and
ambiguous family role, personal relationships category of N/A (e.g., article about
equipment).
186
Discussion
Media coverage of athletes falls under the purview of producers, editors, program
directors, programmers, camerapersons, writers, journalists, commentators,
sponsors, bloggers, and website providers (Coakley, 2009). These entities work to
realize one or more of five goals: (1) to make financial profits, (2) to influence
cultural values, (3) to provide a public service, (4) to enhance personal status and
reputation, and (5) to express themselves in technical, artistic, or personal ways
(Coakley, 2009). Priority given to one or more of these goals is influenced by the
interests of the organizations from which coverage is distributed (Coakley, 2009).
As such, these organizations are largely responsible for framing different sports and
therefore influencing how they are perceived and incorporated into viewers lives.
This analysis shows that ESPN, Inc.s first attempt at a site dedicated to female
athletes and fans is progressive and positively represents female athletes based on
the quantitative measures used in the study. Female athletes are covered photographically in unprecedented ways from mainstream media on espnW, both in
frequency and in seriousness of coverage. Based on statistics on mainstream media
coverage of female athletes, examining the frequency of photographs of female
athletes on espnW shows that the site transcends ESPNs history of discrimination
to be the primary destination for womens sports (espnW, n.d.a, para. 1).
Seriousness of coverage of female athletes was also a positive highlight of my
quantitative analysis of photographs and articles on espnW. There were no significant differences in how female athletes and male athletes were photographically presented in terms of lead stories versus side stories, uniform presence, or court
location. There were also no significant differences in how female athletes and male
athletes were represented in articles for most of the categories I measured. Statistical
significance favors female athletes being talked about more in terms of athletic
prowess/strength as a percentage of the total female athlete population as compared
to male athletes. In articles about female athletes, 83.8% mention athletic prowess/
strength and 80.3% reference positive skill level/accomplishments. For the time
period I analyzed, espnW portrayed female athletes as serious, competent
sportswomen. Positive portrayals of female athletes have the potential to challenge
hegemonic masculinity that governs the institution of sport.
Additionally, taking my analysis one step further reveals even more positive
representations of female athletes. I compiled my statistics to measure true athleticism according to definitions Kane and Buysse (2005) advance in their analysis of
intercollegiate media guides: athletes must be in uniform, actively engaged in their
sports, and depicted on the actual court/field/pitch. Overall, 52.2% (n 202 of 387)
of photographs show athletes exhibiting true athleticism, and female athletes only
are the subjects of 84.1% (n 170 of 202) of these photographs. Additionally, only
12.9% (n 50 of 387) of all photographs show femininity/masculinity, and
only 0.7% (n 3 of 387) of photographs show athletes in a sexually suggestive way
(see Appendix for definitions of variables). Pearson chi-square test does not show
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2
Conclusion
Two limitations emerge in this study: (1) the time frame from which I collected
articles and (2) quantitative analysis as a potentially cursory glance at what is
really going on in the articles. I chose 6 months of articles to limit the scope of the
study, but the 6 months I chose could have skewed my results based on which
sports were in season during that time. The time period I chose covers the NBA
Finals, Kentucky Derby, NFL Draft, PGA Players Championship, Womens
World Cup soccer, Indy 500, college softball and baseball World Series, Wimbledon tennis tournament, U.S. Womens Open (golf), Womens British Open (golf),
U.S. gymnastics nationals, Womens Professional Soccer League championship,
U.S. Open (tennis), WNBA Playoffs, LPGA Solheim Cup, MLB World Series,
World Gymnastics Championships, and Pan Am Games. Additionally, for
womens professional sports leagues, this time period covers most of the Womens
188
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Appendix
Definitions of Terms Used in the Study
1. Photographs accompanying feature articles: photographs that appear when
links to feature articles are accessed;
2. Feature articles: articles that appear above the fold of the webpage; usually
four articles on each webpage (box around feature articles in this example);
190
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.
Notes
1. This was the mission at the time the articles for this study were collected. The current
mission is, to serve women as fans and athletes. espnW.com provides an engaging environment that offers total access to female athletes and the sports they play, takes fans inside
the biggest events, and shares a unique point of view on the sports stories that matter most
to women (espnW, n.d.b).
2. Tiger Woods, the current highest paid male athlete, made over US$78 million in salary,
winnings, endorsements, and appearance fees from June 2012 to June 2013 (even after a
significant scandal that cost him some sponsorships; Forbes, 2013); Maria Sharapova, the
current highest paid female athlete, made US$29 million in salary, winnings, endorsements, and appearance fees from June 2012 to June 2013 (Badenhausen, 2013).
Wolter
191
3. Although male athletes are also presented in sexualized ways, the sheer magnitude of
mens sports coverage dictates an alternate reality for every image of a male athlete that
supposedly sexualizes him, there are thousands and thousands of pictures of male athletes
who are simply great athletes, Dr. Kane (Mary Jo Kane, Director of the Tucker Center for
Research on Women and Girls in Sport) said. Thats not the case for women. If it was true
that whenever I turned on ESPN I saw women athletes as athletes, Id be less troubled by
Playboy (Huang, 2004, p. 13).
4. Values above a 0.70 reliability are typically considered acceptable, but the purpose of the
research determines to what extent this matters (Landis & Koch, 1977). Landis and Koch
(1977) categorize 0.40 to 0.59 as moderate interrater reliability, 0.600.79 substantial
interrater reliability, and 0.80 and above outstanding interrater reliability.
5. I use Cohens k because Carletta (1996) argues the k statistic should be adopted as a universal method for computational linguists and cognitive scientists working in the areas of
discourse and dialogue. Additionally, Lombard, Snyder-Duch, and Bracken (2004) suggest
Cohens k as a more reliable method than percentage agreement because the method
accounts for agreement based on chance.
6. Violations of gender ideals call sexuality into question and, because identifying as queer is
still not widely accepted as it should be (especially in sports), lesbian players remain
closeted and others feel pressure to act and appear wholesome, which includes acting
heterosexual (Harris & Humberstone, 2004; LaVoi & Kane, 2011; Webster, 2009). Players
who do not enact heterosexuality are often excluded from media coverage (LaVoi & Kane,
2011). Gender binaries are maintained by marginalizing women who do not conform to
traditional gender roles.
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