Mean girls, homosociality and football: an education on social and power dynamics between girls and women

Sanders, Kellie

doi:10.1080/09540253.2015.1096921

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…It is powerfully striking how the data point to a significantly counter-hegemonic constitution of women's football teams, in which not only lesbian relationships are completely free, but manifest homosociability phenomena (Davis-Delano, 2014; Mennesson and Clement, 2003; Riemer, 1997; Sanders, 2015; Shire et al, 2000). Homosociability in women's football teams facilitates homosexual practices and allows players to engage in this type of sexual practice if they wish (Sanders, 2015). This fact can contribute to subverting not only the deep-rooted androcentric stereotype of sport as a heterosexual context, but also to become a driving force of LGBTQI+ rights (Mennesson and Clément, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Davis-Delano (2014), Mennesson and Clement (2003), Riemer (1997), Sanders (2015), and Shire et al (2000) explore women's teams as contexts of empowerment for non-heterosexual women. In these studies, lesbian identity was understood as an artifice that could be represented in women's sports, to such an extent that the teams were associated with acceptance, protection, and celebration of lesbian relationships (Sanders, 2015). However, other studies show how negative stereotypes associated with lesbian identity are a concern in women's sports (Caudwell, 1999; Fynes and Fisher, 2016; Kauer and Krane, 2006; Krane, 1997).…”

Section: Sexual and Gender Minoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From the via Crucis to paradise. The experiences of women football players in Spain surrounding gender and homosexuality

Martos-García

García-Puchades

Soler

et al. 2023

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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The number of women in football has considerably grown in Spain, which in addition to increasing its media and social visibility is also attracting academic interest. In this regard, the objective of this article is to understand and interpret the experiences of 15 elite female football players regarding their gender and sexual orientation. The semi-structured interviews followed a pattern already used in other related research and dealt with topics such as the stereotypes that accompany women who play football, family reluctance, coexistence in locker rooms, lesbians coming out of the closet, or the need for more and better reference models. The data point to a clear homosociability within the teams and the benefits of supporting one and other when coming out of the closet, offering a counterpoint to family attitudes mostly characterized by rejection or stigmas that mark women as ‘tomboys.’ The conclusions highlight, on the one hand, the discrimination that the female players experience for being women who practice a traditionally masculine sport, and how homonegativity contributes to the control of women and the gendered nature of sport, and on the other hand, the open and inclusive climate that lesbian players have found in the football environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sexual and Gender Minoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

From the via Crucis to paradise. The experiences of women football players in Spain surrounding gender and homosexuality

Martos-García

García-Puchades

Soler

et al. 2023

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…But we also refer to empirical cases to illustrate the way in which 'precocious femininity' can use tropes of hyper-femininity to distract from less gender traditional modes of being, and/or to assertively play on heterosexuality (Francis, Skelton, and Read 2010). Moreover, power relationships are evidently exercised between girls and women, sometimes according to their constructions of gender (including constructions of femininity) (see, for example, Reay 2001;Renold and Allen 2006;Renold and Ringrose 2008;Sanders 2015).…”

Section: Hyper-femininity and The 'Girly Girl'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Femininity, science, and the denigration of the girly girl

Francis

Archer

Moote

et al. 2016

British Journal of Sociology of Education

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Hyper-femininity and the construction of the 'girly girl' label have been documented widely, but there has been less attention to their content (or any distinctions between these constructs). Indeed, it can be argued that the content of femininity remains a controversial and somewhat under-researched topic in feminist scholarship. This is also the case in relation to science, which has been widely characterised as a masculine terrain, but there has been less attention to why femininity is excluded from/by science. This article attempts to unpick some of these issues, with a particular focus on the construct of the 'girly girl' , in relation to access to science. Drawing on qualitative data from the Economic and Social Research Council-funded ASPIRES 2 project, we analyse the discourses used by young people and parents in discussion of 'girly girls' and physics. We show the misogynist and excluding discourses projected onto the 'girly girl' , and indeed that are used to interpolate femininity more broadly. We found that in discussions of science and (hyper-)femininity, even potentially positive feminine attributes were denigrated. Hyper-femininity was produced as 'more than lack': vacuous, but also a risible presence. In reflecting on our findings we consider whether femininity may be more derided in some discursive contexts (e.g. science discourse) than others, and whether femininity can or should be conceived as more than lack.

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“…A growing body of literature regarding female participation of sports emerged since the 1990s. Focusing mainly on traditional male-dominant sport such as football, studies covered discussions around the construction of women's team and women sports playing (Caudwell, 2000; Sanders, 2015; Toffoletti, 2017; Williams, 2007), women empowerment in sport participation (Fullagar et al, 2022; Hutchins and Rowe, 2013; Mendes et al, 2019) and female sports fandom (King, 2002; Nash, 2000; Pope, 2012, 2017). Specifically in terms of fandom, existing studies intended to categorize and redefine female sports fans as “new customers” or new type of sport audience.…”

Section: Gender Sports and Professional Gamingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonsport narratives, fan production, and affective discourse in girls and women eSports fandom: An alternative construction of pro-gaming in China

Yin,

2023

DIY, Alternative Cultures & Society

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This article discusses the cultural practices of girls and women eSports fans and their significance. The paper argues that the cultural performances of girls and women eSports fans challenge the hegemonic masculinity of the eSports sphere by allowing fans to enter the world of eSports affectively. Girls and women eSports fans oppose the patriarchal competitive discourse of “noob is an original sin” from traditional eSports fans and try to open new discourse spaces from the perspectives of romance, homosociality, and cuteness. Through actively participating in tournament spectatorship, social media discussions, and production of fan products, girls and women fans have developed an affective narrative of “generating power with love.” Thus, girls and women girls and women eSports fans have partially transformed the traditional male-dominant eSports fandom and opened new affective spaces for cultural practices for eSports fans.

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Mean girls, homosociality and football: an education on social and power dynamics between girls and women

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

From the via Crucis to paradise. The experiences of women football players in Spain surrounding gender and homosexuality

From the via Crucis to paradise. The experiences of women football players in Spain surrounding gender and homosexuality

Femininity, science, and the denigration of the girly girl

Nonsport narratives, fan production, and affective discourse in girls and women eSports fandom: An alternative construction of pro-gaming in China

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