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.
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 today’s 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 men’s and women’s 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 Women’s 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 women’s 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. It’s called ESPN. The idea that women need a ‘girlier’ version of sport programming is insulting” (DiCaro, 2010, para. 13–14). Similarly, Michael Messner, sport sociologist, notes, “Yes, it’s going to give women’s sports fans a place to go, but it might ultimately ghettoize women’s 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 ESPN’s 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 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$440–US$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 ESPN’s top 100 North American athletes of the 20th century includes only nine women (and three horses; ESPN, n.d.), women’s 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 women’s 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 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).
Media Coverage of Athletes
Mary Jo Kane, Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Women and Girls in Sport, claims, “As we enter a new century, we are in what I call the Best of Times and the Worst of Times with respect to media representations of female athletes” (Media Education Foundation, 2005 [video file]), asserting unprecedented acceptance of women in sport based on initiatives like Title IX, yet consistent backlash about the success and presence of female athletes (Media Education Foundation, 2005). Kane (2009) groups media depictions of female athletes into three categories: (1) ambivalent images, where the athlete is presented in a feminine/sexualized way but where the photograph contains some clue that she is an athlete (e.g., Michelle Wie in a wedding dress holding a golf club), (2) sexualized images (e.g., Brandi Chastain nude bending over holding two strategically placed soccer balls), or (3) athletically competent images (e.g., Candace Parker charging down the basketball floor). Mainstream media outlets disproportionately portray female athletes as ambivalent or sexualized as a way to counter these individuals violating traditional gender roles to participate in sports (Kane, 2009).
Approximately 40% of all athletes nationwide are women, yet they still only receive 5–8% of media coverage (Hardin & Whiteside, 2010; LaVoi & Kane, 2011). When women are depicted, they are more often participating in individual sports rather than team sports and are consistently presented in passive roles, highlighting physical appearance rather than athletic ability (Brooten, 2009; Duncan, 2006). When women are presented in team sports, they almost always exhibit mainstream media sex appeal (Duncan, 2006), like Alex Morgan, USA Soccer player who holds the #66 spot on Maxim’s list of the 100 most beautiful women in the world (“2012 Hot 100,” n.d.). This technique prompts viewers to judge female athletes on “stylistic standards of beauty” rather than on athletic competence (Webster, 2009, p. 57). Additionally, it sets up a “false narrative” that women are not interested in sports or are not skilled at sports (Kane, 2013, p. 233).
Four factors are behind the trend of presenting female athletes as sexual objects. The first is the financial success of pioneers like Anna Kournikova and Gabrielle Reece in terms of off field/court/pitch endorsements, which have been magnified by the popularity of the Internet (Huang, 2004). The second factor is younger female athletes disregarding the struggle women have gone through to attain equal opportunities for sports participation (Huang, 2004). Younger athletes are often less conscious about posing scantily clad because the opportunity to participate in sports has always been afforded to them, thanks in large part to Title IX. The third factor is that the sports marketplace exists in the entertainment industry. The old adage that “sex sells” is still in full effect, and media associated with the sports industry 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; Meân & 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).
Digital Media Platforms and Sports
New media in sport represents, “highly accessible publishing techniques that use internet and web-based technologies; places where people create and collaborate” (LaVoi, 2009). Athletes use new media for personal brand development (Ballouli & Hutchinson, 2010 Public Broadcasting Service [PBS], 2009), to make money or save money (O’Neil, 2011; Martin, 2010), to provide access to their lives for fans (PBS, 2009; Ruggiero, 2009), and to connect with fans (Hambrick, Simmons, Greenhalgh, & Greenwell, 2010; Sanderson, 2010; Sanderson & Kassing, 2011).
Research on the foray of digital media into sports media coverage reveals mixed results for improving the way female athletes are presented in traditional media. On 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 women’s athletics (Hardin et al., 2012; Sanderson & Kassing, 2011). Angela Ruggiero, U.S. hockey player, uses new media to promote women’s 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; Meân, 2011; Oates, 2009). For example, Meân’s (2011) analysis of ESPN.com from November 23 to December 2, 2009, shows the site presented a narrow range of men’s 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 women’s 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: men’s 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 men’s 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? Do feature photographs on espnW showcase athletes in uniform, on the playing surface, and in action? How do contributors write about athletes in terms of game/nongame reporting, reference to athleticism, and references to psychological/emotional strengths/weaknesses in feature articles on espnW? Are athletes’ nonsporting lives in terms of references to physical appearance, family roles, or personal relationships referenced in espnW feature articles?
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).
Sample and Analytic Techniques
In this article, I report results from a quantitative content analysis of photographs that accompany feature articles and feature articles on espnW for the first 6 months (April 26, 2011-October 26, 2011) after the site existed as a static web page (see Appendix for example unit of analysis). In any analysis of Internet webpages, the time and date webpages are coded should be carefully controlled (Weare & Lin, 2000), so I used the screen capturing software SnagIt to convert webpages into pdf files with embedded links to articles at the same time every day for six months I analyzed.
The coding procedure for this study was grounded in past sports studies research on representations of athletes in mediated publications. I chose photographs that accompany feature articles and feature articles because they appear "above the fold" on the espnW webpage. The first screenful of a webpage is the most important "real estate" of a website because it is this content that determines whether or not a reader will continue exploring or leave the site (Niederst, 2006). I chose relevant categories from the photograph coding schema from Buysse and Embers-Humbert’s (2004) and Kane and Buysse’s (2005) studies of intercollegiate media guides. For each photograph, I coded date, sport, category of sport (recreational, high school, college, professional, Olympics), male/female, new/repeat image, game/nongame reporting, individual/team sport, uniform, pose presentation, court location, and thematic presentation (true athleticism/posed athleticism/femininity/pop culture; see Appendix for definitions of variables). I chose relevant categories for the article coding schema from a study of Internet coverage of NCAA March Madness conducted by Kian, Mondello, and Vincent (2009) who based their categories on a comprehensive analysis of what has been used in previous content analyses of sport. For each article, I coded date, sport, category of sport (recreational, high school, college, professional, and Olympics), male/female, new/repeat article, game/nongame reporting, individual/team sport, whether or not sexuality is addressed, and whether or not femininity is addressed (see Appendix for definitions of variables).
To test reliability, a research assistant coded every photograph and article. First, I taught the assistant how to code using the schema for this study in an extensive training session (Weare & Lin, 2000). Then, we each coded 2 months of photographs and met to assess intercoder reliability. Intercoder reliability for the first 2 months of photographs ranged from 0.69 to 0.93 4 for all the variables as measured by Cohen’s κ. 5 I then met with the research assistant to clarify definitions of variables and to go through each discrepancy until we agreed on classifications for the first 2 months. We then coded data for the remaining 4 months and achieved a final intercoder reliability of 0.77–0.97 as measured by Cohen’s κ. Last, we met again to go through discrepancies until we agreed on final classifications for each instance. The lowest reliability for photographs was for the variable “thematic presentation” and the highest was for “uniform presence” for both coding episodes.
The same research assistant who coded photographs also coded articles to establish intercoder reliability. We followed the same procedure for articles, and initial intercoder reliability for the first 2 months of articles was 0.63–0.79 as measured by Cohen’s κ, and final intercoder reliability was 0.73–0.92 as measured by Cohen’s κ. The lowest reliability for articles was for the variable “sexuality” and the highest was for “category of sport.”
Using SPSS 17.0 for analysis of quantitative data, I generated frequency statistics to report findings on all variables coded for photographs and articles. I used cross-tabulation, the “process of creating a contingency table from the multivariate frequency distribution of statistical variables” (Black, 1999) to analyze configurations of two variables such as sex of athlete and sport. I also used chi-square test for two independent samples to determine statistical significance at the .05 level between selected variables that directly related to the research questions for this study. Although statistical analysis included categories of “female athletes,” “male athletes,” “both female and male athletes” and “N/A—photo not of an athlete,” I only present results from the categories “female athletes only” and “male athletes only” to streamline results. When calculating statistics based on total number of athletes, I combined the categories of “female athletes only,” “male athletes only,” and “both female and male athletes” so the total number of photographs that feature athletes is 387 and the total number of articles that feature athletes is 403.
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 sport privilege a definition of sport rooted in hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is the most common framework used in sport research examining gender (Pringle, 2005). The term hegemony was coined by Antonio Gramsci to describe the process where a culturally diverse society is dominated by one ruling class that manipulates the political, ideological, and social norms to the extent that these norms are viewed as the status quo (Gramsci, 1971). The status quo is presented as beneficial to all classes in society but in actuality mainly benefits the ruling class (Gramsci, 1971). Domination does not take place using force but rather, for example, through manipulating groups such as political parties and religious organizations or controlling mass media (Gramsci, 1971).
Hegemonic masculinity was formulated by scholars to explain a pattern of social practice, which encompasses more than simple role expectations or identity, in the early 1990s (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Hegemonic masculinity is defined as, “the configuration of gender practice which embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of the legitimacy of patriarchy, which guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and the subordination of women” (Connell, 2005, p. 77). This does not mean, however, that hegemonic masculinity is not challenged. Oppositional forces consistently challenge hegemonic norms, rendering hegemony a fluid concept that is constantly being redefined (Hardin, Lynn, & Walsdorf, 2005). The predominant cultural ideals of hegemonic masculinity do not necessarily correspond to personalities of the most powerful men in society but rather models of masculinity that sustain power for the dominant group (Connell, 1987).
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 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.
Sex of Athlete in Photographs of Top Five Most Popular Sports Represented on espnW.
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.
Female and Male Athletes by Level of Sport Presented in Feature Photographs on espnW.
Pearson chi-square test shows significant differences, χ2(1) = 16.21, p = .003, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories of “both” and “N/A (photograph not of athlete)” and ambiguous level of sport category “not sure.” Statistical significance is most reflected in the recreational level of sport category, where recreational sports comprise 10.3% (n = 32 of 311) of all photographs featuring only female athletes and only 3.2% (n = 2 of 63) of all photographs featuring only male athletes.
Team Versus Individual Sports
In my sample of espnW photographs, team sports are depicted 55.1% (n = 24 of 437) of the time and individual sports are depicted 42.1% (n = 184 of 437) of the time. Female athletes only appear in 70.0% (n = 159 of 241) of photographs of team sports and 82.0% (n = 151 of 184) of photographs of individual sports. Male athletes only appear in 19.1% (n = 46 of 241) of photographs of team sports and 9.2% (n = 17 of 184) of photographs of individual sports.
Pearson chi-square test shows significant differences, χ2(1) = 9.98, p = .002, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories “both” and “N/A (photograph not of athlete)” and ambiguous team versus individual sports categories “both team and individual sports,” and “unsure.” Statistical significance is reflected in team sports representing 85.2% (n = 46 of 54) of all photographs featuring only male athletes and 53.5% (n = 159 of 297) of all photographs featuring only female athletes. Individual sports represent 31.5% (n = 17 of 54) of the total number of photographs with only male athletes and 50.8% (n = 151 of 297) of the total number of photographs with only female athletes.
Uniform Presence
The second research question for this analysis was, “Do feature photographs on espnW showcase athletes in uniform, on the playing surface, and in action?” Overall, photographs show athletes in game uniforms/warm-up attire in 87.1% (n = 337 of 387) of photographs. Female athletes only represent 81.3% (n = 274 of 337) and male athletes only represent 15.7% (n = 53 of 337) of the times athletes appear in uniform, respectively. Female athletes in uniform represent 92.3% (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 only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, χ2(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/A—photo 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, χ2(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/A—photo 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 athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, χ2(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 athlete’s 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 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.
Female and Male Athletes by Top Five Most Popular Sports Presented in Feature Articles on espnW.
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.
Female and Male Athletes by Level of Sport Presented in Feature Articles on espnW.
Pearson chi-square test shows significant differences, χ2(1) =19.257, p = .002, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories “both” and “N/A (article is not about an athlete)” and ambiguous level of sport category “not sure.” Similar to photographic representation, the statistically significant difference was in articles about recreational athletes, where articles on recreational sports with female athletes make up 7.2% (n = 22 of 305) of all articles on female athletes only and articles on recreational sports with male athletes make up 0.0% (n = 0 of 53) of all articles on male athletes only.
Team Versus Individual Sports
Team sports were the focus of 53.5% (n = 239 of 447) of articles and individual sports were the focus of 40.0% (n = 179 of 447) of articles in my sample (see Appendix for a definition of what constitutes a team vs. individual sport). Female athletes appeared in 65.7% (n = 157 of 239) of articles focusing on team sports and 79.9% (n = 143 of 179) of articles focusing on individual sports. Male athletes appeared in 19.7% (n = 47 of 239) of the total articles focusing on team sports and 4.5% (n = 8/179) of articles focusing on individual sports. Articles about team sports comprised 51.5% (n = 157 of 305) of all articles about female athletes only and 83.9% (n = 47 of 56) of articles about male athletes only. Articles about individual sports comprised 46.9% (n = 143 of 305) of all articles about female athletes only and 14.3% (n = 8 of 56) of all articles about male athletes only.
Pearson chi-square test shows significant differences, χ2(1) = 20.860, p = .000, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories “both” and “N/A (article is not about an athlete)” and the ambiguous team versus individual sport categories “both individual and team sports” and “not sure.” Statistical significance is most prevalent in the individual sport category, where articles about individual sports comprised 46.9% (n = 143 of 305) of all articles about female athletes compared to only 14.3% (n = 8 of 56) of all articles about male athletes.
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 references to psychological/emotional strengths/weaknesses in feature articles on espnW?” I first addressed this question by coding whether the overarching theme of an article reported on events that occurred during a game or if the topic was a nongame situation (coaching, contract, suspensions, etc.). I also included a third category of articles related to training (fitness, injuries, diet for training) to differentiate game situations about athletes from training tips for readers. Table 5 shows the distribution of game/nongame reporting and sex.
Game/Nongame Reporting in espnW Articles.
Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, χ2(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 doesn’t miss a lot. It’s 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.
Pearson chi-square test shows significant differences, χ2(1) = 8.09, p = .004, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories “both” and “N/A (article is not about an athlete)” and ambiguous athletic prowess/strength category “N/A (e.g., article about equipment).” Articles including some reference to athletic prowess/strength comprise 83.3% (n = 254 of 305) of all articles about female athletes only and 57.1% (n = 32 of 56) of articles about male athletes only.
Athletic Weakness/Limitations
The second variable I used to measure how espnW contributors wrote about athletes is whether or not the author mentioned athletic weaknesses/limitations in an article. Athletic weakness/limitation refers to general athletic ability or skill rather than specific statistics or accolades related to the sport. An example of athletic weakness/limitations is, “Wozniacki’s serve was broken in the first game of the first set. It was a harbinger, even though Kuznetsova struggled on serve as well” (article 300, para. 9). Athletic weakness/limitations are mentioned in 39.7% (n = 160 of 403) of articles that are about athletes, 75.0% (n = 120 of 160) of which are female athletes only, and 13.1% (n = 21 of 160) of which are male athletes only. Athletic weakness/limitations are mentioned in 39.3% (n = 120 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 differences, χ2(1) = 0.296, p = 0.586, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories “both” and “N/A (article is not about an athlete)” and ambiguous athletic weakness/limitations category “N/A (e.g., article about equipment).”
Positive Skill Level/Accomplishments
The third variable I used to measure how espnW contributors wrote about athletes is whether or not they mentioned positive skill levels/accomplishments in an article. Positive skill level/accomplishments were specific statistics or accolades of the athlete rather than his or her general athletic prowess. An example of positive skill level/accomplishments was, “At 22, Tseng is the youngest golfer—man or woman—to win five majors” (article 218, para. 1). Positive skill level/accomplishments are mentioned in 75.2% (N = 303/403) of articles that are about athletes, 80.9% (N = 245/303) of which are female athletes only and 11.6% (N = 35/303) of which are male athletes only. Positive skill level/accomplishments are mentioned in 80.3% (n = 245 of 305) of the total articles on female athletes only and 62.5% (n = 35 of 56) of the total articles on male athletes only. Pearson chi-square test does not show significant differences, χ2(1) = 1.619, p = .203, between male and female athletes excluding the ambiguous sex categories “both” and “N/A (article is not about an athlete)” and ambiguous positive skill level/accomplishment category of “N/A (e.g., article about equipment).”
Negative Skill Level/Failures
The fourth variable I used to measure how espnW contributors wrote about athletes was whether or not they mentioned negative skill levels/failures in an article. Negative skill level/failures were specific statistics of the athlete rather than his or her general athletic weakness/limitations. An example of 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 significant differences, χ2(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 you’ve 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…it’s a testimony to the power of the mind-muscle 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 test does not show significant differences, χ2(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: You’re 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 differences, χ2(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 Asarenka’s 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 points—so you know the relationship between the two must be getting serious” (article 306, para. 2). An example of reference to attire was, “from Tracy Austin's 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 chi-square test does not show significant differences, χ2(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 differences, χ2(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).”
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 ESPN’s history of discrimination to be the “primary destination for women’s 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 significant differences in true athleticism, χ2 (1) = 2.61, p = .106, femininity/masculinity, χ2 (1) = 0 .601, p = .438, or sexual suggestiveness, χ2 (1) = 0.390, p = .532, between male and female athletes excluding ambiguous sex categories and ambiguous topic categories. Contrary to so many photographic representations of female athletes that highlight trivial aspects of their lives, espnW presents these athletes as contenders who can hold their own on the field/pitch/court.
As an entirely digital product suite, espnW represents the potential for digital media to more positively portray female athletes than traditional media outlets (even ESPN, Inc. entities) have done in the past. ESPN, Inc. has dedicated an entire division of their online presence for female sports fans and female athletes, and this study shows that female athletes are presented as competent sportswomen in that venue. espnW offers a means by which ESPN, Inc. can more explicitly focus on female athletes (although I am weary that creating a separate space for women to consume sports may make us seem less interested or interested in different aspects of coverage than men), hopefully transcending their history of poor coverage of female athletes (Messner & Cooky, 2010).
Two factors mar espnW’s photographic and textual presentation of female athletes: level of sport and team versus individual sport. Statistical significance in photographs shows a higher proportion of female athletes than male athletes depicted in recreational sports. Statistical significance also shows up in analysis of articles, where female athletes are depicted in more of the articles on recreational sports. Male athletes are also presented in team sports in a higher proportion than female athletes in both photographs and articles, which is consistent with past studies on media representation of male and female athletes (Duncan, 2006; Vincent, Imwold, Johnson, & Massey, 2003). Although these findings are frustrating because they keep female athletes out of the most revered positions in sport (Sports Fan Market, 2010), the other more positive improvements in representation outweigh these aspects.
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, Women’s World Cup soccer, Indy 500, college softball and baseball World Series, Wimbledon tennis tournament, U.S. Women’s Open (golf), Women’s British Open (golf), U.S. gymnastics nationals, Women’s 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 women’s professional sports leagues, this time period covers most of the Women’s National Basketball Association and Women’s Professional Soccer seasons and part of the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association and World Tennis Association seasons. For men’s professional sports leagues, this time period covers part of the National Basketball Association season (only Finals and draft), the National Football League season (a few months), the National Hockey League season (about a month), and the Professional Golf Association and Major League Soccer seasons. The most popular sports in my analysis were basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, and baseball for photographs and basketball soccer, tennis, multiple sports, and tennis for articles. These results are potentially partially explained by the seasons from which I drew my sample.
Although my findings seem promising, future research should go more in-depth on the content of articles on espnW. The variables I used to measure athletic competence measure mention of positive characteristics like athletic prowess or positive skill level, but this does not mean that these topics were the focus of each of the articles or that other, more trivial topics were not also a part of the articles. Researchers should also investigate the motives of ESPN, Inc. as a corporation, as the legal obligation to act in the best interest of shareholders impedes any initiatives that empower female athletes. Third, as sociologist Michael Messner points out, positioning espnW as a separate site than the main ESPN website has the potential to “ghettoize” (Thomas, 2010, para. 11) women’s sports. Researchers need to ask why women’s sports on the main ESPN website are not covered in the same way they are on the espnW website.
The power media organizations have in shaping the ways individuals think about sports is significant because the institution of sport privileges men and masculinity and is a primary means by which gender roles are constructed and maintained in our entire culture, not just in the world of sports (Coakley, 2009). Sports are social constructions that reflect the values of dominant powers in the sociocultural system in which they are embedded (Brooten, 2009). Sports operate under particular social, political, and economic conditions (Coakley, 2009), often reflecting masculine ideals in favor of protecting hegemonic masculinity (Harris & Humberstone, 2004). Depictions of female athletes on espnW for the first 6 months show a departure from the traditional narrative of female athletes based on hegemonic masculinity and have the potential to positively influence readers.
Footnotes
Appendix
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.