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Tennis + Sex = Increased Popularity: Using a Content Analysis to Examine the Covers of Tennis Magazine from 2000 to 2004

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Tennis + Sex = Increased Popularity: Using a Content Analysis to Examine the Covers of Tennis Magazine from 2000 to 2004 TENNIS + SEX = INCREASED POPULARITY: USING A CONTENT ANALYSIS TO EXAMINE THE COVERS OF TENNIS MAGAZINE FROM 2000 TO 2004 By JESSICA ASHLEIGH GOLDSTEIN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2005 Copyright 2005 by Jessica Ashleigh Goldstein This thesis is dedicated to my parents. They always believed in me and made all of my dreams come true. I love them with all of my heart. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are so many people I would like to thank for making the completion of my master’s degree possible. First, I would like to acknowledge my committee chair, Dr. Julie Dodd. Her endless knowledge of the sports media was invaluable to my thesis research. I have thoroughly enjoyed our long talks in her office about sports, journalism and life in general. I couldn’t have asked for a better chair to lead me to success. I would also like to thank Professor Ted Spiker for offering his wisdom of the current magazine industry. Professor Spiker was one of those teachers who sought to always make learning fun. He was my favorite professor in my undergraduate career because he put his students first, and for that I thank him. I could not have completed the data analysis portion of my thesis without the help of Dr. Leonard Tipton. He was continually ready and willing to help me. I would like to thank these three amazing committee members who guided me to achieving my goals. My parents are the two most important people in my life. There are no words to possibly thank them enough for always believing in me and supporting me no matter what. They instilled in me the characteristics of hard work and determination. I learn from them more and more every day, as they are my true motivators. I want to thank my dad for taking me to play tennis when I was just three years old. He taught me the love and passion of the game, which I brought into this study. He is the hardest working man I know and has sacrificed so much to make our family happy. He and my mom are the most unselfish people, always putting others’ needs before their own. I would like to iv express my gratitude to my mom, who is not only the greatest woman I know, but my friend and confidant. She is the woman I strive to become everyday of my life. I love and cherish my parents more than anything else in the world and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to acknowledge my sister Shari. She always knew that I would excel in whatever I chose to do. I want to thank her for believing in me. I appreciate our sisterly bond even more as the years pass. I love and respect her so very much. I would like to thank my brother-in-law Curtis for always taking an interest in my scholastic ability. He tested my knowledge on so many topics and I always loved our conversations away from the rest of the family. My nephew Logan and my niece Avery are so special to me. Even though they are too young right now to understand just how much I love them, I want them to know that I always enjoyed taking a break from Gainesville and my thesis to spend time with them. I would like to show my appreciation to my Poppy and Evie. I want to thank them for their inquisitiveness about my thesis because by explaining my research to them, I was able to better understand it as well. I love and admire them very much. The reason I fell in love with the study of journalism is because of my mentor Mary Inglis. As my high school yearbook adviser, she taught me the values of time management, perseverance, and dedication to the field that I so respected. She was not only my teacher in the journalism field, but more importantly, she was my friend. I appreciate her love and guidance to this day. My world would not be complete without the support and love of my best friend Mandy. I feel truly blessed to have someone so caring and generous in my life. We have v been friends for five years and she has seen me at my best and my worst. She has never let me down and always encouraged me to reach for the stars. I am so proud and honored to call her my friend. Finally, I would like to thank my fiancé Tim. He is my knight in shining armor. I want to thank him for standing by me, holding my hand, giving me confidence and supporting me throughout this entire process. He is my best friend and a truly amazing person. I want him to know that I could not have made it through these past few months without his kind and thoughtful demeanor. I love him with all of my heart and I cannot wait to start our life together. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 The History of Tennis...................................................................................................1 The Tennis of Today.....................................................................................................4 Tennis’ Sexual Appeal Increases → Popularity Increases ...........................................8 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................11 Women Underrepresented in Coverage......................................................................11 Women Portrayed in More Emotional Circumstances ...............................................17 Women Shown in More Posed Photographs ..............................................................19 Women Publicized in Stereotypical, Sexual Manner .................................................21 Tennis and The Recent Change in Playing Attire ......................................................25 3 METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................28 Content Analysis.........................................................................................................28 The Coding Instrument...............................................................................................29 Intercoder Reliability..................................................................................................30 Coverline Analysis......................................................................................................31 SPSS Analysis ............................................................................................................32 4 FINDINGS..................................................................................................................33 Overall Representations of Males and Females..........................................................33 Comparison of Active versus Passive.........................................................................34 Males and Females in Passive Posture .......................................................................35 Male and Female Facial Expressions .........................................................................36 vii Female Clothing Descriptions ....................................................................................37 Male Clothing Descriptions........................................................................................39 Tennis and Non-Tennis Related Clothing Comparisons ............................................39 5 DISCUSSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH.............................................................41 Discussion...................................................................................................................41 Suggestions for Future Research ................................................................................44 APPENDIX A TENNIS MAGAZINE CODEBOOK.........................................................................49 B TENNIS MAGAZINE CODE SHEET ......................................................................53 C TENNIS MAGAZINE EXAMPLE COVERS ...........................................................55 LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................65 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................69 viii LIST OF TABLES Table page 4-1. Overall numeric representation of males and females from 2000 to 2004 on the covers .......................................................................................................................33 4-2. Overall percentage representation of males and females from 2000 to 2004 on the covers .......................................................................................................................34 4-3. Comparison of active and passive males and females on the covers ........................35 4-4. Photo subjects in passive posture photographs..........................................................36 4-5. Photo subjects’ facial expressions .............................................................................37 4-6. Female clothing depictions........................................................................................38
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