Framing Sexual Difference: Front Page Photographs of the 2006 Winter Olympics


Date: January 1, 1970
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This content analysis focuses on the gender role portrayals of Olympic athletes on the front pages of 50 U.S. newspapers and one national paper during the 2006 Winter Olympics. The purpose of this study was to determine whether depictions of athletes mirrored the reality of the games or reinforced misconceptions of sexual difference. This study explored the cultural values embedded in sports as seen through the media lens. It revealed the ongoing struggle between media representations of men and women and reality. This was accomplished by investigating how women and men are visually portrayed in newspaper coverage of the Olympics. Characterizations of female athletes supported previous studies that found sexual differences were emphasized through stereotypical gender representations of participation and activity level. The findings showed no bias in quantitative representation or prominence of photographs.


Publisher: Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, TBA, San Francisco, CA, May 23, 2007
Year of Publication: 2007

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