‘There is a reason why Sporty Spice is the only one of them without a fella …’: the ‘lesbian potential’ of Bend it Like Beckham

Abstract

Drawing on debates around lesbian (in)visibility, representability and appropriation in cinema, this paper explores the ways in which Bend it Like Beckham (Chadha, 2002) opens up possibilities for lesbian spectatorial engagements. Situating the film within the larger generic context of the (female) sports film, I argue that Bend it Like Beckham uses the lesbian recognisability and representability provided by the contemporary sports context for an articulation of non-heteronormative identities and desires, blurring the boundaries between lesbian visibility and invisibility. Questioning traditional and binary understandings of gendered spectatorship, and with a particular focus on moments of athletic performance, I suggest that the athletic (bodily, emotional and looking) relations between the central female characters allow for appropriative viewing pleasures to be taken in this superficially ‘straight’ text.