According to Metheny (1965), people's impressions of the acceptability of sport for women varies across several factors, including culture and gender. In this study, 206 prospective physical education teachers from Canada and Kenya were questioned about their perceptions of gender appropriateness of various sports. They completed Likert-type questionnaires related to sport/physical activities found in their respective university curricula. For those sports that appeared in both countries, responses were compared (2 x 2 ANOVA) for effects of culture and gender. Gender differences were also addressed within each culture. / Results revealed that Canadian respondents perceived fewer sports to be on the extremes of the male-female continuum than did the Kenyan respondents. Females in both cultures considered more sports to be appropriate for both male and female participation than did their male counterparts. However, Canadian and Kenyan respondents, both male and female, unanimously perceived some sports to be primarily appropriate for males and others primarily appropriate for females. / The study supports Metheny's contention of cultural variance in perceptions of the gender appropriateness of sports. Although many sports that had been considered inappropriate for females in 1964 are today considered to be androgynous, especially by Canadians, some gender stereotyping still remains to be overcome. Implications for physical education teachers are suggested.

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This study examined sports photographs in fifty-two issues (thirteen issues each) of The Source Sports, Sports Illustrated for Women. Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine for gender differences in the way athletes are visually portrayed. Duncan and Sayaovong's 1990 study was used as the foundation for this new study.The content analysis revealed quantitative differences in photographic depictions of female and male athletes. Like the previous study, gender differences were found in the overall number of photographs of female and male athletes. These photographs were then broken down into one-half page, full-page and pull-out photographs. Gender differences were also found in the number of male and female athletes on the cover of the magazines, and the level of activity or inactivity associated with athletes. Unlike the previous study, the researcher found no gender differences in prominent and supporting positions when both men and women were featured in a photograph and no difference in camera angles. / Department of Journalism