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Black Belts and High Heels: an Analysis of Gender Representation on Black Belt Magazine Covers

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Abstract

A content analysis was conducted of all 618 Black Belt magazine print edition covers between 1961 and 2017. Each person featured on the cover was examined in regard to their sex and the manner of their portrayal. Data collected from the analysis was quantized using previously identified gender characteristics adapted for this study. Results support existing literature that female athletes are underrepresented by sport media. Twenty-one covers (3.40%) featured females. Results found females were portrayed differently than their male counterparts. Featured females were more likely to show excessive skin in their photographs, and were more likely to be sexualized or objectified. Only 1.78% of featured males were sexualized or objectified as compared to 33% of featured females. Additionally, covers featuring women were significantly more likely to include text referring to gender. These references often infantilized, gender stereotyped, or objectified women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Marketing, and Economics, Christian Brothers University, 650 East Parkway South, Buckman Hall 317, Memphis, TN, 38104, USA

    John R. Malmo

  2. Department of Physical Education, School Health, and Movement Studies, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, USA

    David T. Rolfe

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  1. John R. Malmo
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  2. David T. Rolfe
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Correspondence to John R. Malmo.

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Malmo, J.R., Rolfe, D.T. Black Belts and High Heels: an Analysis of Gender Representation on Black Belt Magazine Covers. Int J Sociol Leis 2, 317–328 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41978-018-00031-x

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