Gender bias in sports media on social media: An analysis of video thumbnails on Instagram and TikTok

Abstract

Gender inequality in sport has been widely documented in traditional media, yet less is known about how it is reproduced on social media platforms. This study examines gender representation in sports video thumbnails on two digital platforms, focusing on the relative visibility of male and female athletes and sports journalists. To this end, a visual content analysis was conducted on 4,560 thumbnails published on the video platforms Instagram and TikTok during January 2026. The unit of analysis was the video thumbnail image. The sample included content from 10 sports media outlets whose online profiles have the largest number of followers in Spain. The gender of the protagonist and their role (athlete or journalist) were coded for subsequent statistical analysis. The findings reveal a clear underrepresentation of women in sports video thumbnails across the platforms analyzed. The presence of female athletes is lower than that of male athletes. In addition, female sports journalists appear less frequently than male sports journalists. Notably, male sports journalists surpass even female athletes in terms of visibility, highlighting a gendered visual hierarchy. These results confirm that sports video thumbnails on social media reproduce unequal patterns of visibility. The greater presence of male figures suggests that authority and visual legitimacy in sport within digital environments continue to be predominantly associated with men. Such dynamics reinforce symbolic inequalities and limit women’s access to spaces of media recognition.