Although media coverage on women’s sports during the Olympic Games has seen some slow yet steady progress, the content is far from perfect. Through the examination of Sports Illustrated magazines from 1955 to 2014, this study will show that women as well as Olympic athletes are being represented differently than men. By analyzing studies previously conducted on Sports Illustrated, it will be evident that female Winter Olympians in SI are being under represented and as well as sexualized.
Throughout the 50 years of Sports Illustrated’s coverage of the Olympics games, the female Olympian has been a portrayed more of a sex icon rather than as an athlete. The study will use data gathered in a content analysis to determine how female Olympians, are portrayed as sexual objects rather than impressive athletes. The SI’s Winter Olympic issues between the 1980- 2012 games will be analyzed to see if the theme of sex plays a predominate role in articles and magazine covers featuring female Olympians. On the cover, the presence and portrayal of the female Olympian will be analyzed in order to gain a better understanding. Most of the research in this study will be obtained through in-depth qualitative research. This study is important because it is breaking down the double standard that the media emphasizes more on the looks rather than the athletic performance of the athlete. The question that arises is “Does Sports Illustrated know how to portray female athletes as a powerful figure?”