Representación de las mujeres deportistas en la prensa deportiva española1893-1923

Abstract

The research has focused on studying the evolution of the image of sportswomen in the Spanish specialized press from 1893 to 1923. This work aims to recover an ignored segment of the visual history of sportswomen. A descriptive study is conducted using content analysis as the central research technique. The application of an “ad hoc” elaborated category system allows analyzing the visual imagery of sportswomen portrayed in the studied publications. The results show differences among publications and specific historical moments, being tennis players the most represented ones. As for the conclusions, in the case of the Spanish sportswomen, they lag behind their foreign counterparts, but at the same time there is an evolution in several aspects, such as the number of women who practice sports and the type of practices, which is increasing. In comparison with the treatment that is currently being made of images of sportswomen, we can say that in the early stages there was a greater respect for them. Although cases of negative representations have also been found, most of them are positive and show sportswomen in dynamic actions, thus building an imagery of active women.