Despite an increase in women’s participation in basketball, equal representation and portrayal of female athletes in comprehensive media coverage remains in question. This study examines the portrayal of femininity and masculinity in sports magazine articles and explores how they may reinforce hegemonic masculinity. A content analysis of Sports Illustrated articles for a full season was performed. Three themes support theories of hegemonic masculinity: comparison to male greats, mentioning male family members, and presence of default assumptions. Additionally, two themes emerged involving the tendency for sports authors to depict athletes in accordance with gender inequality. Overall, the Sports Illustrated articles analyzed provide support for literature about bias in media depictions and representations of female athletes.

Sport media has been a known producer of traditional gender images that reflect inequality between sexes. Sport media has been studied endlessly, but one aspect that has not fostered as much attention is sport media, advertising, and children. Sports Illustrated for Kids is the only sport media print magazine for children, with a readership age of 8-15 years old. Images and gender stereotypes have been used continuously by advertising companies to sell products to consumers. Children in particular cannot accurately determine between content that is meant to inform and content that is meant to sell. This study examined whether editorial and advertising images in Sports Illustrated for Kids reflects actual participation rates of athletic activities based on gender in issues from the past decade. Utilizing past research, this study looked at overall numbers and stereotypes by examining factors such as state of dress, photo angle, and motion in photograph. Findings show that females are still under and misrepresented in SIK. Even so, findings of this study suggest representation of women in team neutral sport such as soccer and basketball is on the rise. Findings could have implications for SIK's young readership as well as highlight a need for more education about advertising and editorial practices being implemented. / Master of Arts / Sport media has been a known producer of traditional gender images that reflect inequality between sexes. Sport media has been studied endlessly, but one aspect that has not fostered as much attention is sport media, advertising, and children. Sports Illustrated for Kids is the only sport media print magazine for children, with a readership age of 8-15 years old. Images and gender stereotypes have been used continuously by advertising companies to sell products to consumers. Children in particular cannot accurately determine between content that is meant to inform and content that is meant to sell. This study examined whether editorial and advertising images in Sports Illustrated for Kids reflects actual participation rates of athletic activities based on gender in issues from the past decade. Utilizing past research, this study looked at overall numbers and stereotypes by examining factors such as state of dress, photo angle, and motion in photograph. Findings show that females are still under and misrepresented in SIK. Even so, findings of this study suggest representation of women in team neutral sport such as soccer and basketball is on the rise. Findings could have implications for SIK’s young readership as well highlight a need for more education about advertising and editorial practices being implemented.

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