Sexy versus strong: What girls and women think of female athletes

Little research has investigated girls' and college women's reactions to non-objectified media images of women, including those that depict women in instrumental activities like playing a sport. This study examined open-ended responses to images of performance athletes, sexualized athletes, and sexualized models. Participants were 258 adolescent girls (ages 13–18) and 171 college women (ages 18–22). Responses were coded for inductively-derived themes. After viewing performance athletes, participants made instrumental evaluations of the athletes and themselves. They also considered these athletes to be role models and remarked that they transgressed traditional gender stereotypes. In contrast after viewing sexualized athletes, girls and women made objectified appraisals of the athletes and themselves. They also levied critiques about women's status in society in response to sexualized athletes. Participants viewed these images in a similar manner as general sexualized images of women. Findings suggest the need for more performance imagery of female athletes in mainstream media.

► Performance athletes evoked instrumental evaluations of the athletes and participants' themselves.
► Sexualized athletes evoked objectified appraisals of the athletes and participants' themselves.
► Findings suggest the need for more performance imagery of female athletes in mainstream media.