Let's (Not) Talk Sex: An Analysis of the Verbal and Visual Coverage of Women's Beach Volleyball during the 2008 Olympic Games

This study represents a content analysis of five matches of the US women's beach volleyball team during the 2008 Summer Games. Play-by-play commentary and between-play commentary were analyzed for all five games, and all court shots and camera angles were coded. The main objective of this study was to observe the visual and verbal aspects of the prime-time broadcasts of the women's beach volleyball games to determine if the US female athletes were portrayed in a sexualized nature or determine if the athletes were reported on in a way that emphasized sexuality or gender first and athleticism second. Findings from over 1,500 comments and 2,500 camera shots were contradictory to past research, suggesting viewers were shown coverage of the games that often emphasized the athletes' strength and athleticism. Practical considerations and implications are discussed.