The purpose of my research was to examine how athletic brands choose to portray gender on their social media and the public’s response to these representations. With a focus on the official Instagram accounts of four well-known companies, I analyzed Nike, Under Armour, Lululemon, and Athleta. This is an important topic to address as social media becomes an integral part of society and it continues to shape the self. Social norms are formed through the expectations of what one must do to align with those around them. These can be found in Instagram posts such as the ones analyzed for this research as they contributed to the reinforcement of gender norms and stereotypes.
To further this research question, I used content analysis to gather and analyze the data. In my basic content analysis, I examined the first ten comments from each of the posts. Of the 28 posts, I selected four posts containing females and four with males, except for Athleta, for which I chose only four female posts as they are a female-focused brand. I chose posts that had only one model in the shot to allow me to focus specifically on one person rather than a group. I did not specify a time frame or “like” count requirement for which posts were chosen. When conducting the basic content analysis I analyzed each post by checking off a list based on the type of post, the pose, gender, clothing, facial expression, body expression, setting, and if there were signs of sexualization. I conducted an interpretive content analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the brand’s intentions in each post. This entailed analyzing the poses, settings, attire, activity, gender norms, sexualization, and other factors that I deemed important to the analysis. The comments were also analyzed based on the attitude portrayed. This meant either positive, negative, textual or emojis. The captions of the post were also taken into consideration to understand the meaning of the post.
The findings of this research conclude that there are obvious references to gender norms in the athletic brand’s Instagram posts. Lululemon and Athleta both played into this through the way the models were styled; they wore more trendy attire and were shown in less, physically exerting activities. The femininity portrayed in these brands’ posts aligns with the brand’s image. When the consumer aligns with those values, and there is a strong sense of belief and trust, the consumer is more inclined to purchase from them (Ezingeard and Hand 2019).
However, Nike and Under Armour still portrayed some essence of femininity by avoiding stereotypical female attributes such as the way the models were dressed in muted tones or shown participating in more exerting activities. Masculinity is portrayed in the way that every male model or professional athlete was shown doing some form of physical activity whether that be lifting weights in the gym, playing sports, or physical training. There was only one exception to this which was seen in the post by Lululemon of the model stretching in the gym.
As discussed by Mayoh and Jones (2021), men are more likely to engage with professional athletes on Instagram as they see them as having active, performing bodies in comparison to models or celebrities who are seen as having created the ideal visually pleasing body. Men want to be associated with athletes who are the pinnacle of masculinity to feel secure in themselves. Women are different in the sense that they idolize the ideal image as something to strive for and for others to admire (Toffoletti and Thorpe 2018). Not only do they find inspiration from models on Instagram, but they also feel motivated by other female athletes as they make their dreams feel attainable (Midgley et al. 2021). The responses to these ideals are seen in the comments as people express their positive feelings towards these determined athletes, whether that be words of encouragement or emojis.
The lack of representation of male plus-sized models was very apparent in my research as there was only one included in the sampling frame. This can be related to masculinity, as men may fear any threat to their public presence. According to common stereotypes and norms, men may be afraid to show weakness, which is why there is less inclusion of plus-size models as they do not cater to societal norms of masculinity. Women, on the other hand, are stereotyped as more vulnerable, and the strong push to be more inclusive has been apparent in the increase in female plus-sized models. When searching for posts on these brands’ Instagram accounts it was very easy to find images of female plus-size models in comparison to males. The female models were praised in the comments for their ambitions and efforts toward a healthy lifestyle. Though there were scattered negative comments pertaining to their appearance and their brand’s inclusion of them several users applauded the brands for their inclusion. The male plus-sized model post received a variety of responses, but with only one male plus-sized model, a final conclusion on the public’s perception is difficult to ascertain.
Sexualization was not as apparent in the athletic brand’s Instagram posts. Women have historically been shown in advertisements in a way that sexualizes their bodies in an attempt to push a product toward consumers. The sexualization was much more subtle in these posts. Kim and Sagas (2014) found that Sports Illustrated swimsuit models were sexualized far more than athletes in ads. The models showed more skin, smiled less and posed in more relaxed ways in contrast to that of the athletes. This is due to the fact that models in magazines such as Sports Illustrated example are being objectified via a focus on their bodies, while athletes are known and perhaps featured more for their talents than their looks.
In conclusion, gender representation is an important factor in how athletic brands market themselves on Instagram. Brands make intentional decisions regarding how the models are posed, styled, the activity they are shown doing, and the faces they are making. The public may judge a brand based on the model, especially when plus-sized models or famous athletes are featured. The responses in comments were mixed and appear to be evenly distributed in the effect the post has on the public; however, there are clear reactions to body inclusivity and related reinforcement of gender norms. The more feminine the brand or post is the more positive the response. The more masculine a brand or post, the more ridicule and opinionated the responses.
Future Research
In the future, it would be beneficial to analyze more comments and more posts to gain a deeper understanding of the public’s response. I believe the most important theme of this research is the lack of representation for male plus-sized models. There is a clear gap in the efforts to support men in contrast to women on social media when it comes to plus-sized people. Further research on this issue could lead to an understanding of what causes this in society and change the way that traditional or stereotypical forms of masculinity influence people in society to conform to the norms and expectations associated with their gender.