Foul play: gender discrepancy in sports coverage

Female sports face many challenges to receive equal coverage across multiple sports media platforms. Prior research has shown that the sports media uses stereotypical characteristics to maintain the idea that sports are a male-dominated entity. The present study utilized an experimental design to examine the impact of these stereotypical characteristics on the audience’s gender bias when it is read in a story. A sample of 400 individuals read a newspaper story involving either baseball or softball, which included traits that were deemed masculine or feminine according to Sandra Bem’s Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974). Despite studies showing that a lack of coverage combined with stereotypical characteristics are found in sports coverage, participants were not affected by the content as no significant findings were found. Due to the non-significant data, the present study then offered future researchers’ suggestions about how the audience is studied in order to better understand gender bias and its affects.