Female Athletes in the Media: Impact on College Student's Body Image

Abstract

Body related concerns among those in the college population have become increasingly apparent with the rise in social media usage that can then lead to comparative thought patterns. Media images of athletes may be particularly impactful on female college students’ body perceptions due to their potential for social comparison. The current study assessed the impact of performance-based and sexualized media images of popular female athletes on one’s own body image. Eighty-four college females completed an online survey including multiple body image measures completed before and after viewing either performance-based or sexualized media images of famous female athletes. There were no significant effects on body image of viewing the different media images. Participants did rate the performance-based images as demonstrating significantly more empowerment, more positive body image than the sexualized images. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.