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Feminism and the Conformity/Resistance to Gender Roles in Sports Advertising

Feminism and the Conformity/Resistance to Gender Roles in Sports Advertising. Nikki Hussey. The Big 5. Topic: Women in athletics and sports advertising Focus: The conformity/resistance to gender roles Methods: Content analysis of sports television ads / Focus group interviews

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Feminism and the Conformity/Resistance to Gender Roles in Sports Advertising

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  1. Feminism and the Conformity/Resistance to Gender Roles in Sports Advertising Nikki Hussey

  2. The Big 5 • Topic: Women in athletics and sports advertising • Focus: The conformity/resistance to gender roles • Methods: Content analysis of sports television ads / Focus group interviews • Target of Analysis: Television ads from Nike, Adidas, and Gatorade / Collegiate female athletes • Goals: To understand the conflict of femininity and sport, and the ramifications of conforming/resisting hegemonic heterosexual femininity in sport

  3. Major Themes in Lit Review • Identity in sport and the gender order • Sport is a male dominated medium, and has the power to reinforce social constructions about gender • The evolution of women in sport • Title IX • Conflict of femininity and sport • Title IX and its effects on the participation and media coverage of women in sport • Women in sport advertising • Women are a crucial target audience • Two different types of female demographics: true, serious athletes, and those just trying to stay fit

  4. Content Analysis of Television Ads • Nike, Adidas and Gatorade • Total of 15 ads: 5 general promo ads for the company, 10 were ads specifically targeting women • Ads coded for sexuality, “gender (in)appropriate sports,” dominance, and the conformity/ resistance to gender roles

  5. Results • Men dominated airtime in ads that weren’t specifically geared towards women • “Gender (in)appropriate sports” • Women sexualized in 33% of ads • Of 15 ads, 5 conform to and 6 reject from traditional gender roles

  6. Focus Group Interviews • 11 female athletes from a Division 2 liberal arts college in the South • Asked questions regarding their own experiences as female athletes • Shown 5 sports advertisements with women in them: asked questions about how they interpreted the female athlete in the ad

  7. Results • Participants were able to identify social constructions of “gender appropriateness” and sexuality in ads • They drew from their own experiences to testify for the presence of a disconnect between femininity and sport, and how it is at times tricky to know how much to conform/reject from gender roles in order to be accepted as a serious athlete, but at the same time be seen as feminine

  8. Conclusion • Women athletes themselves have the power to either embrace traditional gender roles and hegemonic heterosexual femininity, or reject them completely. • Societal constructions of sport and gender, whether we realize it or not, are deeply rooted in the culture we live in. • Female athletes have to deal with conflicts between their feminine side and their sporting side, because sport is such a male dominated medium.

  9. On my honor, I have read the assigned material in its entirety, and I have not given, received, or witnessed any unauthorized collaboration on this work. – Nikki Hussey

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