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East Tennessee State University

Depictions of Ethnicity and Gender on the Front Pages of College and University Websites.

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This study examined how women and men and people of different ethnicity are represented in the photographs found on the front screens of websites of colleges and universities offering four-year degrees and above in the United States. A content analysis analyzed 1,677 images of men and women found on the front pages of 412 colleges and university websites. A six-point Body Index Scale coding instrument was used to determine if emphasis was placed on the face or the body of the human image, determined through an analysis of where the images were cropped.<p>Frequencies of men and women were moderately split, with images of women representing 53.2 percent of the images and images of men accounting for 46.8 percent. Caucasians were more frequently depicted than people of other ethnicities. The face-ism theory, which asserts that images of women in photographs are cropped to emphasize their sensuality rather than their intellect, was not supported in this study.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
MA (Master of Arts)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis - unrestricted
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Communication, Professional
Year dc:date.issued
2003

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Frazier, Mackenzie Blair

Subjects

dc:subject × 9

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright by the authors.

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/741
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-1898

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
East Tennessee State University
Base URL
dc.etsu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Frazier, Mackenzie Blair. Depictions of Ethnicity and Gender on the Front Pages of College and University Websites.. Thesis - unrestricted thesis, 2003. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/741