Framing the 2012 Olympics: A Content Analysis of International Newspaper Coverage of Female Athletes

The present content analysis was designed to identify the representation of female athletes in the media during the 2012 London Olympics. Coders analyzed 617 mentions of male and female athletes in order to determine the quantity and quality of coverage during the 2012 Olympics. The research mostly supported previous literature concerning the depiction of female athletes in the media, as the study revealed an imbalance in the quantity and quality of coverage of male and female athletes in newspapers. The frequency of mentions of female athletes was lower than the frequency of mentions of male athletes. Furthermore, female athletes were found to be more frequently associated with sexism than male athletes. The exploratory research revealed significant differences in the depiction of female athletes in Western and Eastern countries because female athletes tend to be portrayed in more subordinate roles in Eastern newspapers