Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Theses Department of Communication 11-16-2007 Media Framing of Female Athletes and Women's Sports in Selected Sports Magazines Stacey Nicely Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Nicely, Stacey, "Media Framing of Female Athletes and Women's Sports in Selected Sports Magazines." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2007. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses/31 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. MEDIA FRAMING OF FEMALE ATHLETES AND WOMEN’S SPORTS IN SELECTED SPORTS MAGAZINES by STACEY NICELY Under the Direction of Dr. Merrill Morris ABSTRACT In order to determine how female athletes and women’s sports are framed in sports magazines, a textual analysis was conducted on three popular sports magazines (ESPN Magazine, Sporting News, and Sports Illustrated). The researcher analyzed the texts within these three magazines and found four emergent themes commonly applied to women in sports: mental weakness, male reference, motherhood and sisterhood, and celebrity. The research found both consistencies and inconsistencies in the thematic framing utilized among the three publications. The textual analysis also revealed a tendency for the sports media to reference individual sports more than team sports. Knowing the exact frames utilized in these magazines, allows the researcher to suggest solutions that may alleviate the negative portrayals of female athletes and women’s sports in sports magazines.