Photographic Images in Women’s Health, Fitness, and Sports Magazines and the Physical self-concept of a Group of Adolescent Female Volleyball Players

Abstract

Reception analysis was used to examine how a group of adolescent female volleyball players construct meaning from photographs of athletes in women’s health, fitness, and sports magazines. In-depth group interviews were conducted with 41 athletes aged 14 to 18. The findings indicate that these young women use the photographic images in the construction of their own physical self-concepts, which consist of two primary components: physical ability and body image. Physical ability focuses on perceptions of team participation and athletic competence. Body image is heavily influenced by the social comparison process and involves evaluations of overall physical size and specific body parts—arms, abdomen, and thighs. Although the self-evaluations of physical ability are predominantly positive, evaluations of body image are frequently negative and appear to be exacerbated by photographic poses that emphasize an athlete’s aesthetic beauty rather than her athletic prowess.