Gender-related Media Coverage and the Olympic Games: An Integrated Literature Review

The media coverage of female athletes and women’s sports at the Olympics has been pro- nounced since the 1990s. A number of studies have shown unique and varying findings and raised issues regarding the media coverage of female athletes and their sports at the Olympic Games. The purpose of this review is to identify key issues and discover trends in the litera- ture on media coverage of gender regarding the Olympics and Olympic athletes. The data collection method used here is centered on the collection of articles pertinent to the research topic using three electronic databases. The findings and discussions center on publication and methodological profiles, coverage differences, and emerging issues that include Olympics and nationalism, hegemonic masculinity in sports media, utilization of new media, and the cultural background of female athletes. Future research areas that highlight gender equality, unique Olympic settings, and perspectives on traditional versus new media are provided