A Surprising Gender Difference in the Portrayal of Baseball and Softball Players

Authors

• Emily Deaton, The Woodlands, Texas
• Leonard S. Newman, Syracuse UniversityFollow
• Jenna M. Walmer, Syracuse University
• Chace Chu, Syracuse University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to shed light on how implicit bias could affect the portrayal of male and female athletes—specifically, baseball players and softball players. Although bats are as central to the game of softball as they are to the game of baseball, as “offensive weapons” they are associated with aggression, and both descriptive and proscriptive stereotypes of women are that they are less aggressive and dominant than men. Four hundred pictures of baseball players (men) and softball players (women) were downloaded from popular general sports-related websites. Men were significantly more likely than women to be shown swinging or holding bats. Implicit gender biases affecting how athletes are depicted in the media could shape perceptions of the sports those athletes play.

Recommended Citation

Deaton, Emily; Newman, Leonard S.; Walmer, Jenna M.; and Chu, Chace (2025) "A Surprising Gender Difference in the Portrayal of Baseball and Softball Players," Journal of Sport Behavior: Vol. 48: No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/journalofsportbehavior/vol48/iss2/2