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Virginia Tech

Gender Representation in Sports Illustrated for Kids

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

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.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Communication
Department dc:contributor.department
Communication
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2019

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Wooten, Kelsey Dianne
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Ivory, Adrienne Holz
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Mackay, Jennifer B.
  • Smith, Stephanie A.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:20893
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/90412

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Wooten, Kelsey Dianne. Gender Representation in Sports Illustrated for Kids. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/90412