Date of Award

Fall 12-15-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Communication, Media and Culture

College

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

First Advisor

Kyle Holody

Abstract/Description

The biased portrayal of female athletes by the media has been studied and discussed extensively. The Framing Theory hypothesis is used here to identify a correlation between the way female athletes are portrayed by the media and the way consumers frame their opinions based on these portrayals. A brief public opinion survey was given to a random sample of the student population at Coastal Carolina University. Of the 66 consumers surveyed, 51 (77%) stated that they believe there should be more media focused on female athletes. Of the 66 consumers surveyed, 55 (83%) stated that they believe the media portrays male athletes differently than female athletes. Results suggest that consumers are aware that the media is biased in their portrayal of female athletes. Results also suggest that male athletes are better known than female athletes and are described differently by participants. The results of this study provide interesting correlations between the way female athletes are portrayed by the media and the way consumers perceive them. The results of this study may be beneficial to media consumers, athletes, product promoters and the media alike.

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