At the turn of the century, leading feminist scholar Sue Shaw problematized the impact of sport on women’s lives. Specifically, Shaw (1994, 1999) recommended assessment of how athletics affects ideologies and to what extent sports participation reinforces or challenges traditional gender roles. According to Creedon (1994), sports media portrayals of female athletes, are vehicles through which sexual difference, gender difference and gender hierarchy are sustained in the United States. In light of this and other claims about the representation of narrow and stereotypical images of women in media, research and public perceptions of sport as empowering must be investigated (Signorielli, 1989). Using a critical-feminist perspective, we investigated how female professional and Olympic athletes have been portrayed in the most widely read sports periodical – Sports Illustrated – between 1964 and 2003. An emergent content analysis of feature articles and reader letters of the Sports Illustrated periodical from 1964-2003 was undertaken. Using a critical-feminist perspective, the study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods in data analysis. For each issue, quantitative data were collected, including: 1) total number of feature articles; 2) total number of feature articles predominantly regarding female professional and/or Olympic athletes; 3) total number of reader letters; and 4) total number of reader letters predominantly regarding female professional and/or Olympic athletes. In addition, all of these sources were content analyzed for all issues. More than 12,000 feature articles were reviewed, of which 3.5% dealt predominantly with female athletes. More than 20,000 reader letters were reviewed, and just 2.2% were written predominantly about female athletes. Using constant comparison analysis (Huberman & Miles, 1994) two themes consistently emerged: (a) The physical, often sexual, description of female athletes by both writers and readers; and (b) the marginalization of female athletes through the use of social or gender norms or stereotyping, by writers, readers, and the athletes themselves. Changes (and lack of change) in the portrayal of women’s athletes across decades are described using powerful quotes and letters. The emphasis on physical and social characteristics to describe female athletes has served to marginalize and constrain these professionals – the result of which was the creation of a “hostile workplace”. Moreover, findings suggest that a “myth of empowerment” has been perpetuated within popular culture. With the feminist goal of emancipating women, we offer suggests for shifting athlete portrayals to embrace women’s diversities and create an idealized space for individual self-expression. Keyword(s): athletics/sports, gender issues, interdisciplinary