Beyond stereotypes: Women and their engagement in football fandom

Abstract

In common opinion, football fandom constitutes a male space as men are perceived to be more ‘authentic’ and engaged fans, more attached to the club. This article makes a contribution to the discussion on the differences between female and male fans and their modes of engagement. We aimed to answer the question of whether there are any differences between male and female supporters in: (1) self-stereotyping (agency, communion, independent self-construal, interdependent self-construal), (2) strength of the bond with the fandom and perceived personal gains from attachment to the club (identity fusion with other fans, collective action on behalf of the fan community, self-expansion) and (3) acceptance of aggressive behaviours. We applied a mixed-method approach and conducted both in-depth interviews with female football fans and quantitative analysis based on a survey among Polish football supporters. In contradiction to gender stereotypes, the results of a study conducted among 864 fans show that women saw themselves as more agentic than men did, had a stronger independent self-construal, and declared more self-development and stronger personal gains that can be achieved due to the participation in fandom culture. Moreover, gender differences in the strength of identity fusion and collective action tendency on behalf of the fandom were not significant.

Soccer’s AI transformation: deep learning’s analysis of soccer’s pandemic research evolution

“…The sociological study of soccer was discovered to be more interdisciplinary than general sociological research, with a variety of topic meanings and keywords that were similar in both time periods studied. Nevertheless, soccer studies that addressed sex and gender, such as the perceptions and gender roles of female soccer players and the attitudes and impact of LGBTQ fans, were identified in both periods ( Petty and Pope, 2019 ; Bevan et al, 2021 ; Kossakowski and Besta, 2022 ; Mikkonen, 2022 ). In addition, studies exploring fans’ political behaviors, attitudes, projected national identities, and ideologies in relation to soccer were also deeply sociological ( Tamir, 2019 ; Baltas, 2021 ; Oonk, 2021 ; Webber, 2022 ) and have been noted as thematic issues across both periods.…”

Inclusive, inviting, inspiring: Insights into the experiences of women's football fans in Australia and Germany

“…First, the overwhelming majority are concerned with football fans who are men, while there are only a few studies on women's football fans (see Allison and Pope, 2022;Pope, 2017;Sveinson and Hoeber, 2016). Second, apart from a focus on men as fans, almost all of the existing research on gender in the sports fan space has focussed on the experiences of women who are fans of men's professional sports (see Kossakowski and Besta, 2022;Pope, 2012;Pitti, 2019). Third, the small number of studies on women's football often exclusively examines women fans (see Coche, 2014;Leslie-Walker and Mulvenna, 2022).…”

“…Previous studies of football fans and their experience, attitudes and behaviours mainly centre men's football, its fans and culture. Researchers have worked to include a gender lens on the experiences of women fans of men's football to add their voice into the field (see Jones, 2008;Kossakowski et al, 2022;Kunert, 2021;Pope, 2017;Schallhorn et al, 2017). Moving to the focus to women's football and its fans, research is extremely limited (Pfister and Pope, 2018;, and until only a few years ago, there existed next to nothing that focussed on fans of women's football or the fandom of women's sport more broadly (Dunn, 2016, 18).…”