Abstract

The representation of women athletes in the Spanish media is still a field of study that is rarely analyzed in comparison with the examination of the female presence in the media from a generalist perspective. This study discusses the lack of women athletes in the social imaginary, which means that girls and young women do not have role models to imitate. Even though research on the participation of women in general news items has taken into account the different news sections or categories, few studies have examined the image of female professional athletes portrayed in the media. The few studies conducted show that they are underrepresented and an increasing use of “guests” (women as objects with no other use than to accompany the star of the news item, the male athlete), thus denying girls and young women role models with which to identify.