Interrogating inequalities in Sports Media: Examining gender representation in Sports Illustrated

     Thus far in 2014, Sports Illustrated has published 87 magazine covers, of which, women are the focus in only six. Although there are two covers that do not represent either gender, but rather historic events such as the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing and the 60-year anniversary of Sports Illustrated, the remaining 79 covers establish men as centerpieces (Sports Illustrated, 2014). After analyzing this year's covers, a few of the image's qualities became trends that distinguished men from women and the ideas surrounding each gender in sport. Not included in this count on Sports Illustrated's website is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2014, as that issue has a webpage all to itself due to the popularity and message it conveys. It is important to know that Sports Illustrated does not include images of men in swimsuits, but rather focuses solely on women in risqué swimsuits. Why that edition is even in existence for a sports magazine is questionable, but occasionally female athletes appear in it and ultimately create a broader imbalance of gender equality in sports media.
     The only time a male exposes an abnormal amount of skin on a cover is when 49'er quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, appears in a cropped t-shirt with a 6-pack (of abs) displayed (Sports Illustrated, 2014). Gaining on-field popularity since the 2012 season, Kaepernick's popularity with society and the media has exploded due to his appearance, which has made him somewhat of a sex symbol. Johnny "Football" Manziel and Kobe Bryant are two other notable male athletes whose appearance on their covers appear stylized both in fashion and hair/makeup, which parallels the off-field focus of those specific issues (Sports Illustrated, 2014). On the other hand, apart from Little League baseball's Mo'ne Davis who was the only female athlete shown in action, every female on a cover was highly dressed and done up, suggesting that their appearance is as important as their role in sports. Additionally, 5 out of 6 women appear smiling compared to the 12 out of 79 men, or groups of men, photographed while smiling. In 19 out of 31 staged photos, males are displayed with an aggressively stern face or a smirk rather than a smile, which suggests the constant competitiveness male athletes possess and their intellectual prowess over counterparts, respectively (Sports Illustrated, 2014).
     The majority of both genders are shown in uniform, which upholds the idea that the most important aspect of these individuals is their role in sport and this finding is congruent with recent research conducted on the presentation of athletes, in or out of uniform in collegiate sports catalogs, which found that there is not a significant statistical difference between the genders (Buyssee, 2013). However, what exactly they appear to be doing in those uniforms differs greatly. Professional baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, NASCAR, soccer and ski athletes, as well as collegiate football and basketball men are captured in action 48 out of 79 covers featuring male athletes. For females, the 1 out of 6 covers showing an athlete in action sharply contrasts that trend, which again speaks to the current notion of where genders belong (Sports Illustrated, 2014). This finding is supported by the same study mentioned before, as it found, "[…] men are significantly more likely to be portrayed as competent athletes than women" (Buysse, 2013).
     The consequences of these findings are obvious; as women continue to seek equality in sports, the mass media in undermining the revolution and is doing so because female athletes agree to present themselves in the expected manner. These findings support existing academic research on the subject, as well as the social norms the US mass media conveys to the public.

Reference List

Buysse, J., & Wolter, S. (2013). Gender Representation in 2010 NCAA Division I Media Guides: The      Battle for Equity was only Temporarily Won.Journal Of Issues In Intercollegiate Athletics, 61-21.

2014 Sports Illustrated Covers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.si.com/more-sports/photos/2014/06/18/si-covers-2014#87