| Sport is a business that, when combined with the mass media, wields great influence over public perceptions and attitudes (McGregor, 1989). According to Mischel (1986), of those who process the information delivered by the media, children and adolescents are the most susceptible. Sports Illustrated for Kids (SIK) targets an impressionable and unsophisticated audience and acts as a socializing agent by presenting images of females in sport or by reinforcing traditional images (Walsdorf, 2000). The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine adolescent's perceptions of photographic images in SIK.;The participants were 24 ninth grade students mixed evenly by race and gender. The researcher used individual interviews to obtain in depth information about their experiences in sport and physical activity, and with whom they participated. Focus group interviews were conducted to determine if the adolescents perceived what previous studies found in relation to female athletes in sport print media. Focus group discussions consisted of participant selected and researcher selected photographs.;Data was analyzed using Atlas.ti, a qualitative data analysis program. Transcripts were coded and grouped according to common themes. The following themes emerged from the data: (a) Important characteristics of a photograph, (b) Participant's perceptions of athletes in the media, (c) What participant's want to see, (d) Gender appropriate and inappropriate activities, (e) Race as a descriptor, and (f) Perceptions of representation.;The researcher found that all participants described athletes in terms of physical, mental, and emotional characteristics. Participants preferred to see athletes in team and individual sports, high profile athletes and teams, and sports in which they participated. When describing the action in a photograph the males used very descriptive language, sport terminology, and slang. Female participants' responses were lacking in description and were straight forward. The participants agreed that anyone could participate in any sport, however eight of the participants (seven males and one female) believed that if some participated in a sport deemed sexually inappropriate they would be subjected to social sanctions. Race was most commonly mentioned when describing an athlete's appearance. The participants believed that SIK should show more photographs of children and persons with disabilities. |
