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