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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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 <em>Sports Illustrated</em> 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 <em>Sports Illustrated</em> articles analyzed provide support for literature about bias in media depictions and representations of female athletes.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wilson, Kalah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:06Z","subjects":["hegemonic masculinity","Sports Illustrated","gender","Gender and Sexuality","Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1218","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wilson, Kalah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-10-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["hegemonic masculinity","Sports Illustrated","gender","Gender and Sexuality","Sociology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2404/viewcontent/WilsonK.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1218"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Content Analysis of Sports Illustrated Articles Depicting Women's and Men's College Basketball"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Wilson, Kalah"],"dc:date.available":["2018-10-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2012-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2404/viewcontent/WilsonK.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1218"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["hegemonic masculinity","Sports Illustrated","gender","Gender and Sexuality","Sociology"],"dc:title":["Content Analysis of Sports Illustrated Articles Depicting Women's and Men's College Basketball"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:06Z"}