Perceptions of Male and Female Athletes:
The Role of Sexism
Keywords:
Perceptions of athletes, Perceptions of athletes sports mediaAbstract
Prior research examining perceptions of male and female athletes shows that male athletes tend to receive more favorable evaluations than female athletes. It is not clear if these evaluations are universal, or if individual differences moderate the effect. We tested the hypothesis that an individual-difference variable, namely, level of sexism, moderates the relationship between sex of sport and evaluations of the athlete. Participants completed a questionnaire to assess their perceptions of NBA and WNBA athletes. The results showed that WNBA players are viewed less favorably than NBA players on quantitative evaluations. Qualitative descriptions of WNBA players tended to focus on their personalities or motivations, while NBA players were described in terms of their athletic accomplishments. Importantly, analyses suggest that differences in perceptions of male and female athletes are moderated by level of sexism, with those holding more sexist beliefs evaluating female athletes less favorably than male athletes. The results are discussed in terms of identifying ways to increase the quantity and quality of coverage of sports played by females and the consequent impact on the favorability of perceptions.
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