DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2015.v03i01.031

Pages: 224-231

The mass media have an important role in informing, developing viewpoint towards an individual and their progress in the future. What people read and see in the media shapes, changes and re-enforces People’s attitudes towards certain phenomena and individuals. Just as media filter information and report issues that, in their view are important, they definitely tell the consumers what issues are important to think about and consequently influence their attitudes. The aim of this article is to determine whether there were any differences in the amount of print space allocated to Kenyan male and female athletes in the mainstream print media coverage of the August 2013 World IAAF Championship in Moscow, Russia. The study proved that there are significant differences in the sexist descriptors of male and female athletes, with female experiencing high levels of objectification with respect to gender marking, femininity, heterosexuality and non-sport related reportage. This confines woman to the traditional gender roles and reinforcing the perception that male sports are events that are more important while female are constantly relegated to the “other”.