Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Final Thesis - Kara M. Arend.pdf (451.87 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Female Athletes and Women's Sports: A Textual Analysis of Nike's Women-Directed Advertisements

Arend, Kara M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1429281712

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies /Sport Administration.
Girls and women have made great strides in U.S. sport since the passage of Title IX. Despite their progress, the literature suggests that women’s sports do not receive media coverage that is commensurate with those advances, while representations of female athletes are often perceived as problematic. In 1999, Nike’s sponsorship of the U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer team helped to launch female athletes into the popular imaginary. Additionally, Nike advertising directed towards women began to include feminist values in commodity form to establish Nike as a “celebrity feminist.” As Nike expanded its marketing to the female consumer, I ask whether the brand’s advertisements suggest that Nike has become an advocate for women’s sports. This study uses textual analysis to analyze four women-directed Nike advertisements that aired between 1995 and 2010. Nike’s portrayal of women in sport has evolved from the “if you let me play” advertisement to the “I’m making myself’ campaign. In those advertisements, representations of girls and women transitioned from renderings of young girls asking permission to “play sport” to displaying more mature female athletes who exercised their agency in sport. The understandings gleaned from this study provide a foundation for those who wish to further explore meanings of Nike advertisements directed toward women.
Nancy E. Spencer, Dr. (Advisor)
Jacquelyn Cuneen, Dr. (Committee Member)
Sungho Cho, Dr. (Committee Member)
79 p.
Marketing; Mass Media; Womens Studies
Nike advertisements; textual analysis; female athletes

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Arend, K. M. (2015). Female Athletes and Women's Sports: A Textual Analysis of Nike's Women-Directed Advertisements [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1429281712

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Arend, Kara. Female Athletes and Women's Sports: A Textual Analysis of Nike's Women-Directed Advertisements. 2015. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1429281712.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Arend, Kara. "Female Athletes and Women's Sports: A Textual Analysis of Nike's Women-Directed Advertisements." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1429281712

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1429281712
20,041
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.