Com 473--Baldwin—Communication—Illinois State University

Updated 9/12/08

Media/Rhetorical Analysis Out-of-Class Exercise

Objectives: Through this exercise students should

Develop practice at analyzing a mediated or rhetorical text using basic terms introduced in class, especially (but not limited to) a critical framework (hence, terms such as ideology, hegemony, etc.)
Demonstrate abilities at developing a limited focus at a text (that is, developing a cohesive essay that looks at related concepts in substantial depth for a roughly 4 pp. double-spaced paper).
Demonstrate the ability to create tentative conclusions and possible directions for research from analysis of a mediated/rhetorical text.

Details:

Summary: In this assignment, you will provide a critical analysis of the cultural and ideological assumptions behind a text. For example, this might be about the construction of American masculinity in Fight Club, about the representation of gender in “Co-Ed Naked” t-shirts, or about the images of racial and ethnic identity in Tommy Hilfiger clothing ads (or some other text of your choice). You can also choose a rhetorical text, such as a speech by a politician. Since this is a qualitative methods class, you do *not* need to be limited to “cultural representation” texts. For example, you could do a Burkean analysis of an insurance pamphlet or commercial or a postmodern analysis of definitions of the “ideal” relationship in a romance movie. You can feel free to incorporate tools learned in other classes to do your analysis, or you can follow models seen in class. Your analysis should be about 4 pages long, double-spaced.

Identification & Format: At the top right hand corner, type your social security number (not your name), COM 473—Qualitative Research Methods, and the date. Give the essay a title that reflects the content and is creative. Place the full APA citation of the article or media text at the bottom of the ad. (This does not appear in the following example, as it is a newer requirement.)

Content ideas: For the actual content, you will want to begin with a catchy intro that briefly introduces the topic and provides a rationale for the analysis of the text.

Overview: Move soon into a paragraph or two that summarizes the text (brief overview, then key details of plot or image content, especially those pertinent to your analysis).
Approach: In a separate paragraph, summarize the approach you will take, identifying any key terms that you will use (see some ideas below). Note: This idea may not be reflected in the examples below. If you choose to introduce the approach briefly but define key terms as you go, that is also acceptable (method summary might then appear in the overview paragraph)
Analysis: Much of the paper should be devoted to a clearly organized, thoughtful analysis of the text. You can take any lens you want, though we mostly introduced cultural studies (and, thus, critical and postmodern) concepts. Your analysis might, but does not have to incorporate such terms or ideas as:

Ideology, hegemony (how does text center or privilege certain views of the world, or of relationship, or of teaching, or of..; how does the text maintain the “White” or “American” or “middle class” center—or challenge that center!)
Patriarchy (or other feminist terms, such as “dualism” (nurture/nature, public-work/home, reason/emotion)
Stereotypes (perhaps relying on general cultural knowledge of other texts in the same genre or medium to substantiate your claims); archetypes: Does the text portray one or more “archetypes” of some group?
Semiotics (a method that allows close look at particular ideologies within a text as you see how the sign systems are related to one another)
Postmodernism (noting how there might be different readings of the same text [polysemy]—and what those might be, or how the text relies upon intertextual meanings, or how there are actually contradictory ideologies within a text that shortcircuit attempts or limit attempts at liberation, or how text promotes multiple, marginal pleasures, or. . .
Resistance, empowerment: Remember, accg to Baldwin, not all texts need necessarily be “dominant” (contrary to Barthes)—some might actually be resistant or provide alternative ideologies.

Grading: As in other papers, some keys for a good grade are:

Balance of depth and breadth: If the text is simpler (e.g., a magazine ad), you might discuss several ideologies present (if that is your approach; see below). If it is more complex, your entire paper might take a focus of analyzing a particular ideology (“the ideology of good teaching in Stand and Deliver” or focus (“Martin Luther King Jr.s’ development of ethos in The Mountaintop Speech”).
Depth of thought and analysis is paramount here! Don’t just highlight the things that are apparent to most viewers (e.g., “This beer ad with the Swedish buxom ski team is using sex appeal to sell beer.”). Try to give the reader the “aha” experience by looking deeper into the text.
As in other papers, do not make claims without support. Thus, if you claim that Stand and Deliver portrays a certain positive (or negative) view of teaching and/or authority, provide examples from the text to illustrate your point. (Note: See A. Cheree Carlson’s 1994 article in the WJC “evidence debate” for what constitutes valid evidence in such an analysis! She recommends is that there be sufficient evidence to make a claim and that the evidence be clearly related to the claim).

Final Product should include:

The printed copy of the coded interview (appendix)
A set of categories (with/without subcategories) that has: List of categories, definition (clear, discrete, logical), and examples from the interview.
A summary memo that (a) reviews what you did and how; (b) draws some tentative conclusions about this participant, and (c) discusses possible directions for research.

COM 473: Media/Rhetorical analysis grading sheet

Grading is ultimately subjective (A is for varying levels of “excellence”; B is for “very good/ above average”; C is for “meets the criteria for the assignment/average”; D is for “does not meet the criteria of the assignment, insufficient in important ways”; F is for “very insufficient.”)

TOPIC: ______________________________________________________

Student(s) (ID only, please): ____________________________________

Date: ______________

Introduction/overview

Introduction/overview	--				++
Clarity of explanation of text	1	2	3	4	5
Depth of explanation (or balance of depth and breadth)	1	2	3	4	5
Clear statement of focus & method (what you will look for or at in your media or rhetorical text), or purposes of your “study”	1	2	3	4	5
SUBTOTAL : 15

Analysis

	--				++
Depth of analysis (to what degree to you go “beneath surface”)	2	4	6	8	10
Incorporation of appropriate class terms (most/all should address ideology, hegemony, but might also include terms like commodification, articulation, polysemy, intertextuality, readings [dominant/preferred; oppositional; negotiated], etc. Use of any “tools” introduced in our discussion (e.g., category/theme analysis comparing “types” in this text to other similar texts or societal types; psychoanalytic terms, semiotics, feminist analysis, Marxism, postmodern analysis, etc.). If you use a term, define it!	2	4	6	8	10
Breadth of analysis (an appropriate breadth of themes covered or aspects of a single theme)	2	4	6	8	10
SUBTOTAL: 30

Summary

	--				++
Summary conclusions (depth of these conclusions); future directions: SUBTOTAL: 5	1	2	3	4	5

Comments

Examples:

Student ID

Rhetorical Analysis

Miller Genuine Draft–Cold Filtered or not?

Everywhere you look today, whether it is a flyer, a T-shirt design, a newspaper or magazine ad, or a TV commercial or music video, someone is trying to sell you something. Ads present the world with notions of beauty, sexuality, and hegemony; any type of dominance of one group over another; as to gender and race, etc. While flipping through Rolling Stone, a music magazine geared toward men and women age 18-35, I came across and intriguing ad for Miller Genuine Draft: Cold-Filtered beer. After looking at the ad I found that the ad could be read in several ways, through dominant and oppositional readings. The dominant reading is the reading that is accepted and preferred; the reading the advertiser intended the consumer to get from the ad. The second reading is the oppositional reading; which is the unintended meaning, which rejects the reading the message makers wanted the consumer to get from the ad, but from which meanings are evident to someone of my educational level. The ad used a number of signs; something that represents something else, in an attempt to sell the product depicted. Of these signs I developed three themes for analysis: hegemony, notions of beauty/sexuality and the portrayal of men and women in an ad for MGD.

Before I talk about the three themes of analysis, I will first talk about signs throughout the ad that don’t fall into these categories, but of which I feel ad to the overall rhetorical analysis. The Miller Genuine Draft: Cold Filtered, beer slogan, “Cold-Filter What You Don’t Need. Keep What’s Good,” encourages viewers of the ad to buy MGD that is cold-filtered at a constant 32°, leaving pure beer that hasn’t had its flavor heated away; the intended reading. The cap is off of the bottle of beer, and it is covered in condensation, signifying its coldness and inviting the viewer to consume it. The male figure holding the bottle has his hand open toward the viewer giving the consumer a full view of the product and its brand name. The ad presents the alcohol for consumption in a traditional place of a bar or dance club of some sort. The text at the bottom of the ad is printed in white lettering against a dark background, signifying that what they are selling is true, pure and real as the slogan states, “Only cold-filtering gives you a taste this pure, this refreshing.”

The ad for MGD displays several signs as to cultural hegemony, gender hegemony and social status hegemony. First of all, the ad works against tradition as to cultural hegemony. Ads traditionally depict white culture as the dominant group whereas this as for MGD features the African American culture as the dominant group.

The central female figure is smiling and dancing and appears happy, although another man appears to be handing the central female figure a bottle of beer. The bottle of beer is pointing toward her, as if it is being offered to her as a replacement for the central male figure in the ad, possibly the first step towards getting another guy; the one who is presenting her the beer or reinforcing the notion that the product is to be consumed by her. The ad speaks to women to ‘filter out’ what they do not need; the man who has lost his ‘flavor’, and keep what is good; the MGD, that still has its flavor. It is also interesting to note that the central male figure has his right hand outstretched as if he is trying to touch the central female figure. The female appears to be responding to his perceived action by leaning away with her left arm tucked behind her body and her eyes looking down at the ground. The woman’s actions bring up a number of questions. “Is she leaning away because she is disgusted by the male figure?” “Is she leaning away because she is playing ‘hard to get’?” “Is she leaning away from the male who is presenting her the MGD or the product depicted itself?” No one knows except for the advertisers. I am going to assume that she is leaning away from the central male figure, which helps the ad try and sell the product depicted since it appears to be presented to her or the consumer in place of the central male figure. Despite the perceived action by the man to gain dominance, and the females perceived reaction to it, the ad supports the traditional gender hegemony of men dominating women in advertisements. The advertiser does this by placing the advertised product in the hand of a man who dominates the composition by breaking into the composition from the middle right side of the ad. The man is presenting the bottle of MGD to the viewer and/or the central female figure while at the same time censoring, taking the place of, the central male figure. If it were not for the masculine hand presenting the beer, the gender hegemony would have been near equal since neither the man nor the woman is looking at the camera, and neither figure is closer to the camera than the other.

The product depicted is also a golden color and is illuminated by light, helping it to stand out and grab the consumer’s attention apart from the blue, red, purple and green lights that adorn the background. The MGD is gold, which signifies high quality and feelings of prestige. Gold also signifies illumination, wisdom, and wealth (Color Wheel Pro). Therefore the ad is using social status hegemony to sell the image that MGD is a high quality, prestigious product that provides consumers with wisdom and wealth through its consumption, by people of a high social status. Along with hegemony the advertisement for MGD also uses sexuality in an attempt to sell the advertised product.

The ad is using sexuality to sell the product depicted, leading the consumer to link sexuality with the consumption of the product depicted. The central female figure is scantily dressed, adorning a tight short black mini skirt and a figure hugging white sleeveless top. The central female figure is the only woman in the picture who is dressed in this manner, reinforcing the link between consumption of the product depicted and increased sexuality. The central female figure is also dressed up compared to the central male figure that appears to have just crawled out of bed. This operates under the notion that females are constantly judged by their appearance and the notion that they are always being looked at and judged in relation to other women, whereas men aren’t. The central male figure is also wearing tennis shoes whereas the central female figure is wearing lace-up the leg heels, which draw attention to her long bare legs, tying back into her sexuality and notions of beauty as depicted in the ad. The bottle of beer is also a phallic symbol and it is reinforced by the way it is depicted in the hand of the male presenting it. It could be said to represent a penis in the man’s hand signifying sex, among other things, which the ad is definitely trying to sell. Many people also know that the consumption of alcohol commonly leads to–sex. The ad is trying to sell sex through the depiction of the woman, whom one male is presenting alcohol to, replacing the central male figure, and possibly offering himself to her as well. The ad is also trying to sell sex by the way in which the central female figure is dressed, as discussed previously, and the way in which she is depicted dancing with her legs spread apart. Along with sexuality the ad portrays men and women in certain attire, including colors, although unintended, to sell the product depicted.

The central female figure is dressed in a white top. White is associated with light, goodness, innocence and virginity. White usually has a positive connotation signifying safety, purity and cleanliness (Color Wheel Pro). She is also wearing a black skirt. Black is commonly associated with power, elegance, formality, evil and mystery. Black denotes strength and authority; and is considered a prestigious color (Color Wheel Pro). Therefore the ad, though unintentional, is trying to sell consumers the image that women who consume the product depicted will be innocent yet mysterious and pure yet evil. The central male figure is wearing a black top and red pants. Again, black signifies evil, mystery and power. Red is the color of fire, and is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination, passion, desire and love. Red also brings text and images into the foreground. Red is commonly used as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions (Color Wheel Pro). Therefore the ad, though unintentional, is trying to sell consumers the image that men who are strong, dangerous, evil, mysterious, passionate, and in search of love can be filtered out through the consumption of the advertised MGD by women.

It is also important to note that the advertised product is placed directly in front of the central male figure that is wearing red, which as previously stated, brings text and images into the foreground and is used as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions. The background of the ad is decorated with blue, red, purple and green lights. Blue signifies stability, loyalty, trust, wisdom, confidence and intelligence. Red signifies fire, energy, danger, strength and determination. Purple signifies royalty, power, nobility, luxury, independence and ambition. Green signifies growth, harmony, freshness and fertility (Color Wheel Pro). These colors in opposition to the central figures create a mood of stability, wisdom, energy, danger, power, luxury, growth and freshness, all of which can be associated with the consumption of the advertised product.

As you can see hegemony, notions of beauty and sexuality, and the portrayal of men and women in advertisements are used in an effort to sell the advertised product, though many of the signs are unintentional. I feel that this ad is typical of alcohol advertisement today. The ad uses sexuality, the way in which the woman is dressed and posed, and the manner in which the man is presenting the beer, pointing it toward her, to sell the advertised product. The ad is also typical of advertisements in general with the male dominating the composition, although only his hand is seen in the ad. I also found it very interesting how the colors of the central figures outfits and the colors of the lights in the background add to the overall meaning of the advertisement and the product depicted. I think this ad is representative of American culture and our attitudes and beliefs about alcohol, how, when, and who it should be consumed with and associated.

Work Cited

Color Wheel Pro (computer software). See Color Theory in Action! <http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html>. (3 March 2003).

ISU ID

COM 473—Qualitative Research Methods

December 2, 2005

The Portrayal of Women in Golf Digest Magazine

Unlike the American sports of baseball and football, golf is popular sport that is open to men and women in the United States. One can assume, then, that Golf Digest Magazine devotes attention equally to men and women golfers. For this assignment, I reviewed a copy of Golf Digest Magazine. After simply paging through the magazine, I found my assumption to be incorrect. In this paper, I present an analysis of the portrayal of female golfers in the magazine. It is important to note that Wood (2003) discourages the practice of “spotlighting,” highlighting a person’s sex (e.g., female golfer). However, for this paper, I spotlight sex in order to eliminate confusion in my analysis of the representation of men and women in Golf Digest Magazine. In addition, the assertions that I make in my analysis are based upon an analysis of one copy of Golf Digest Magazine. I do not intend to generalize my analysis to all volumes of the magazine. With the above notions in mind, I first summarize the images presented in the text and provide key details of the image content to lay the foundation for my analysis. Next, I summarize “hegemony” as my approach to analyze this magazine and then move to an analysis of the portrayal of women in Golf Digest Magazine.

From a general perspective, I noticed four images of female golfers in the magazine. Whether it is a photograph, article, or advertisement, each image presents an interesting area of analysis. In this paragraph, I present the images and articles to provide relevant information for my analysis. On page six of the magazine, Grace Park is shown on the table of contents. She is wearing a white Nike shirt, beige shirt, and a white sun visor. The next female golfer appears on pages 106-107. Again, it is Grace Park in the same attire demonstrating her “ABC’s For Longer Drives.” This short, one-page article features four photographs of Park that comprise a majority of the layout. One image is a full-page photo that shows the front of Park swinging at the golf ball. The second photograph is slightly less than half a page that shows the backside of Park swinging at the ball. The other two photographs show Parks’ feet to present the “full-step” and “half-step” motions to achieve a longer drive. The next female golfer appears approximately 20 pages deeper in the magazine in an advertisement for “Golf Digest Schools,” an organization that offers golf instruction. In this advertisement, a man is assisting a woman with her golf swing. He is stooping down in front of the woman with his hands on the golf club. The final image of a female golfer in Golf Digest Magazine appears on page 164. Two pictures of Lorena Ochoa appear on this page. One picture is of a young Ochoa in full swing at a Junior World event. A current picture of Ochoa appears next to the younger picture. The current picture features Ochoa in a “stooped” position, holding a putter in her hand, and gazing at the hole. In all, I counted four appearances of female golfers in Golf Digest Magazine. Next[jrb1] , I offer a definition of hegemony as a tool for my analysis of this text.

Hegemony refers to “a process in which a dominant group leads another group to accept subordination as the norm” (Miller, 2002, p. 73). In other words, how does the text (i.e., in this case, Golf Digest) center or privilege certain views of the world? On the surface, the mere presence of four pictures of female golfers in the magazine is evident that the process of hegemony is at place in this magazine. In laying out the magazine, Golf Digest publishers appeal to the ideology of readers. In its simplest terms, ideology refers to our assumptions about reality that influence our perceptions of the world. In addition, ideology involves assumptions that we rarely question (e.g., the appearance of female golfers in the magazine) and shapes our understanding of those assumptions (Miller, 2002). I turn now to an analysis of the images presented in Golf Digest Magazine. Using the terms hegemony and ideology, I discuss the components of each photograph and offer an analysis of the portrayal of female golfers in this magazine.

Using hegemony for analysis, the first image is alarming. Park is stretching her body with her golf club in a way that scantily places her breasts as the focus of the photograph. She is wearing a wide smile with her eyes gazing seductively at the camera. Her photograph immediately catches the reader’s eye as he or she turns to this page. Of all the photographs of male golfers in this magazine, there is not single image of a male that is as seductively displayed as Park. The publishers highlight 19 stories on the table of contents page. Of the 19 stories, there is only one story about a female golfer. It is a story about the attractive female golfer, Grace Park[jrb2] . A question comes to mind: Of all the stories presented on the table of contents page, why do they display a picture of Park? Perhaps the publishers chose to place a flashy photograph of Park on the table of contents page to appeal to male readers[jrb3] . The gender hegemony on this page is clear. If males are the primary readers of Golf Digest Magazine, the publishers likely placed Park on the contents page to appeal to readers’ ideology and catch their attention early in the magazine.

Grace Park’s “article” is featured on pages 106-107 of the magazine. The amount of text displayed does not warrant an identification of “article.” It is merely a photo spread of an attractive female golfer. Photographs of Park dominate the “business card-sized” amount of article text on page 107. The spread is highlighted by the headline “Fancy Footwork” to orient readers to Park’s tips for achieving longer drives while on the golf course. The following question comes to mind: Since the publishers use a picture of Park’s to attract the attention of male readers, would the stereotypical male accept the advice of a female golfer to improve his golf game? The stereotypical male golfer would answer with a firm “no.” Park’s photo spread is highlighted by quotes such as “I’m able to get more distance when I practice transferring my weight like a baseball player.” This is, perhaps, the publisher’s attempt to have male readers link Park’s tips, clearly displayed through attractive photographs, to the stereotypical male’s golf game. The photographs place an attractive female golfer (Park) at the center of attention. A full-page photograph of Park is featured on page 106. Park is shown in full swing with her short, beige skirt lifted up in the short breeze that would accompany a golf swing. It appears that the photographer had to lie on the ground to capture such an image. Park’s toned legs are shown stemming from her air-born skirt. The remaining photographs on page 107 show the “back-side” of Park, including her buttocks and toned leg muscles. All of the photographs place the male reader in a dominant position over the female golfer who is posing in these pictures.

The next image of a female golfer appears approximately 20 pages later in the magazine. In this photograph, the woman is pictured in an advertisement for Golf Digest Schools. Gender hegemony is clear in this image. In this photograph, a male golfer is in a “stooped” position on the golf course assisting the female golfer. A question immediately comes to mind: Why does the advertisement feature a female golfer seeking assistance from the male? In this photograph, even though the male is not standing and towering over the female, he clearly is in the dominant position (i.e., serving as her teacher). The woman is also holding the long, narrow golf club that is strategically placed between the man’s legs. The man is placing his left hand on the bottom portion of the club and his right hand on the top over the woman’s hand. It appears that the man is assisting the woman, but perhaps the golf club serves to symbolize the male penis. In this photograph, it seems somewhat sexually explicit as the two gaze into each other’s eyes while placing their hands on the “golf club[jrb4] .”

The final image of a female golfer in Golf Digest Magazine appears approximately 15 pages deeper on page 164. As the reader turns to this page, he or she is met immediately by a large, red headline in bold type, “My First Time.” I immediately ask the following question: Why did the publisher (or layout editor) choose red font for this headline? When referring to the first time a female engages in sexual intercourse, people most frequently associate the phrase “getting her cherry popped.” The color red is associated with strength, power, passion, desire, and love (Color Wheel Pro, 2005). Perhaps, it was the publisher’s intention to feature the “My First Time” headline in red and then immediately place two pictures of Lorena Ochoa just below the headline. As described earlier, this page features a picture of Ochoa at age eight and a present picture of Ochoa. In the current picture, Ochoa is placed in a “squatting” position with her right hand on the golf course and a golf club in her left hand. Ochoa is wearing rather “short shorts” and her “squatting” position coupled with the camera positioned as shooting from the ground up creates an interesting image for the (presumably male) reader. Readers can somewhat glance up her shorts.

Overall, the gender hegemony at place in Golf Digest Magazine is clear. Male golfers are pictured more frequently than female golfers. In all, four female golfers appear in this edition of the magazine and, as I analyzed above, the four images are presented in imagery that reproduces power relationships. In this magazine, women are featured in short skirts that are photographed in a way that allows male readers to capture a sexy view of the female. The magazine also references sex, either explicit or implicitly, and places photographs of attractive women as the focus of articles that would otherwise arouse little attention. Additionally, this magazine creates for male readers an ideology that likely influences their perceptions of the portrayal of women in other publications. I believe that my findings in this single version of Golf Digest Magazine may be common across other sport-related publications that privilege the portrayal of men and use women to arouse the attention of male readers.

References

Color wheel pro: See color theory in action. Retrieved November 26, 2005 from QSX Software Group Web site: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Miller, K. (2002). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts (2^nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wood, J. T. (2003). Gendered live: Communication, gender, and culture (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Rhetorical Analysis

ESPN – The Magazine

Because my term paper is researching the media coverage of female athletes, this rhetorical analysis will cover gender themes that run throughout ESPN – The Magazine. These themes will include amount of column inches devoted to female sports and athletes, language used in referring to female athletes, depiction of female athletes, and photographic coverage of female athletes.

First of all, it is blatantly obvious ESPN – The Magazine is directed at an audience of males between the ages 18 and 30, and this analysis will clearly explain why. The physical features of the magazine include size and paper. The paper size of this magazine is 10 x 12 inches, which is larger than the typical magazine size of 8.5 x 11 inches. The paper is also in a type of matte finish rather than the typical glossy finish. Both of these print technicalities can be due to the fact that this magazine is designed to set itself apart from its competition such as Sports Illustrated.

As a female athlete and all-around sport fan, when I first picked up the magazine my first reaction was the all male athlete cover. Not only was the cover photo of a men’s hockey team, but the other subtitles were in regards to other articles about male athletes. As I flipped to find the table of contents, I noticed that the first page of the table contained no mention of any female athletes. I went onto the second page of contents and again found nothing in regards to a female athlete.

To one’s surprise on page 14, there was a short article and a 2.5 x 4 inch picture, taking up approximately two-thirds of page about Natalie Coughlin, a female swimmer for California, who won NCAA swimmer of the year honors for the second year in a row. This was not a typical article however. The entire article was a quote about how her competitiveness in practice helped make her the swimmer she is. For once, the text describes the “masculine characteristics” of an athlete such as competitiveness, the strive for perfection, and toughness rather than the “feminine characteristics” of a female such as emotions, sex appeal, or social position. But then again this article was not written by a journalist, but instead was a direct quote from the athlete herself.

The next mention, and/or rather picture of a female athlete is on page 23. It happens to be a 1 x 1.5 inch picture of track athlete Marion Jones. The only text written describes her by her first name only, Marion. One must skip ahead to page 38 to find the next reference to a female athlete. This time it is a 1 x 1.5 inch picture of University of Connecticut women’s basketball player Sue Bird. The text is in the form of a chat room discussing whether or not the University of Connecticut (Division 1) women’s basketball team could beat a men’s basketball program in Division 3. The author thoroughly defends the female athletes based upon their skill by saying, “Dianna Tauraski would shoot you silly. And Sue Bird would run circles around a lot of D3 players…Just because you’re 6’8” doesn’t mean you are better than someone 6’3”. And a man isn’t necessarily better than a woman in sports. That’s what I’ll be teaching my two daughters.” If only more journalists and sports fan could take that view, female athletes might actually get the attention they deserve.

Ironically on the same page (38), the coverage of a female athlete has no regards to her athletic ability. This time the sex appeal of World Cup soccer player Mia Hamm, is used to develop the fact that anything can happen in sports, citing the author, “You trying to convince yourself, or me? Look, the Patriots won the Super Bowl. The Bruins lead their conference. Nomar’s dating Mia. What more do you want?.”

One is going to have to flip for a while to find the next bit of column inches devoted to female athletes. It is on page 102 that a 10 x 2 inch section of the page is devoted to the Duke women’s basketball team, complete with a 1.5 x 2 inch picture of player, Alana Beard. This short article, this time written by a member of the magazine’s staff, did discuss the talent of Duke’s women’s basketball team. The article discusses the team winning 22 straight games before losing in the Final Four, all with only one senior, and then goes on to discuss the talent coming back. Beard is described as “being the first ACC player –male or female- with 600 points, 200 rebounds, 150 assists, 100 steals, and 20 blocks in one season.” The rest of the paragraph describes the talent of several other players in the same regard. However, the very next sentence changes the tone a bit, “What about Duke’s ‘soft’ interior?.” It talks about Mistie Bass’s talent as a McDonald’s All-American but relays her social position to a male by stating that she is the daughter of music legend Chubby Checker. Once again, while an effort is made to focus on the talent of female athletes, relaying back to the “inferior” characteristics of females tears the effort apart.

The only attempt to cover female athletes seriously is made by an advertisement for Disney’s Wide World of Sports, which ironically has female athletes on the ad. Of the visible 12 athletes in the advertisement, 7 are female. One might notice though that the majority of females who are depicted as athletes are shown competing in what might be considered “masculine” sports such as lacrosse, track, softball, and volleyball. All of these sports tend to be gender marked, meaning the gender of the athletes is listed before the sport itself when covering the event. For example, ESPN the television would have the event listed as “women’s lacrosse.” The other advertisement depicting female athletes is one for Gatorade Propel. It shows a picture of a water bottle with a cluster of both male and female athletes floating around in the water. However, one must look closely to determine which of the fuzzy pictures are male and which are female.

Of the 109 pages in the magazine, only 14 pages have a picture of a female on them and this includes advertisements. Of those 14 pages, only seven of those pages had female athletes on it, with two of those pages being advertisements. The other seven pages showed females as models and had depiction of that female being an athlete. For example, on page 106 is a picture of Jennifer Lopez and the discussion is of her famous “rear-end.”

Of the 112 pages, from front to back covers, only 14 pages had anything to do with females, while only 7 of those pages gave any regard to those females being athletes, keeping in mind that the depiction of these female athletes might have had nothing to do with their “masculine” characteristics of talent, competitiveness, and strive for perfection, but rather her “feminine” characteristics of being too emotional, inferior to their male counterparts, and social relationship to a male. The coverage of female athletes is only 16% in ESPN – The Magazine, a percentage that is alarmingly less than male athletes. In addition to the amount of coverage and depiction of female athletes, one might be able to count, possibly on one hand, the total amount of photographic inches devoted to female athletes, which is also alarmingly less that the photographic inches devoted to males. In fact, one could quite easily estimate the photographic inches devoted to female athletes in less that 5%.

After revealing this analysis of ESPN – The Magazine, one can clearly make the assumption that its coverage of female athletes is inferior to that of their male counterparts. But the only way that this discrimination will stop is for today’s generation to take a stand and demand the coverage of female athletes because right now, these athletes are not getting what they deserve.