Female Football Fans Research Articles

The role of physical education and other formative experiences of three generations of female football fans

The experiences of female sports fans have been largely marginalised in academic research to date and little research has examined the formative sporting experiences of female spectators. This article draws on 51 semi-structured interviews with three generations of female fans of one (men's) professional football club (Leicester City), to consider the extent to which sports participation at school and elsewhere influences female football fandom, and also explores the influence of the family in channelling young females into or away from sport. We begin by examining the extent to which women had opportunities to experience football at school and how the type of school they attended affected these opportunities. We consider continuities and discontinuities between each generation's experiences by examining the influence of sexist teachers, the ubiquity of what the women viewed as ‘body conscious girls’ and the effects of peer pressure. Finally, we examine the ways in which families obstructed or facilitated young females' interest in football, and the importance of mainly male role models within and beyond the family. We conclude with some reflections on feminist praxis and its relevance for young people's formative sporting experiences.

‘Like pulling down Durham Cathedral and building a brothel’: Women as ‘new consumer’ fans?

The experiences of female sports fans have been largely marginalized in academic research. This article aims to bring women’s experiences as sports fans to the fore. It also explores assumptions of homogeneity which seem to underlie much research on male and female fans. This has perhaps led to a gendered binary whereby female sports fans are often depicted as ‘new consumer’ fans and are perceived as ‘inauthentic’ in their support. Drawing on Glaser and Strauss’s (2008) ‘grounded theory’ approach, 51 semi-structured interviews were conducted with female football fans in the East Midlands city of Leicester in England. This article focuses on two themes which emerged from this research: women, football and a sense of place; and women and stadium modernization. These findings begin to explore some of the complexities of female fan attachment and emphasize the need to examine the diversity of women’s experiences as sports fans. I propose that future research on sports fandom would benefit from a greater sensitivity to heterogeneity in both men’s and women’s experiences.

Football and American identity

* Preface * Introduction * Chapter 1. The School and American Football * The Social Psychology of Football * The Academic Achievements of Football Players and Other Athletes * Children's Football * Football and Aggression * Death and Injury on the Playing Field * Football As an Alternative Status System * Summary * Chapter 2. College Football--The Professionals' Minor League * Football Develops a Subculture * Recruiting College Football Players * Money and Greed--The College Football Business * The Race Issue in College Football * Who Plays College Football? * The College Football Coach--Role Model for All Seasons * Football Injuries and Football Deaths * Cheerleaders * Summary * Chapter 3. Football As a Profession * A Brief History of Professional Football * The Coming of Television * Race and the NFL * Football Fanatics * The Domestic Lives of Football Players * Professional Football Players As Victims * Professional Football and Social Class * Summary * Chapter 4. Football and Social Stratification * The Status of Football Players * Wealth, Income, and the Football Business * Race and Football: A Mixed Marriage * The Jewish Football Experience * Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas: Mothers of American Football * Gender and Sexual Orientation * Retired Football Players * Summary * Chapter 5. They Also Serve * Coaches * Scouts * Trainers * Officials * Cheerleaders * Football Doctors, Injuries, and Drugs * General Managers * Owners * Summary * Chapter 6. Fanatics * The Football Hall of Fans * Female Football Fans * The Football Culture * Regional and Generational Differences Among Football Fans * The Tailgate Party and the Football Diet * In Groups and Out Groups * Fan Violence * Fantasy Football * The Influence of Gender on Human Contact * Catharsis * Summary * Chapter 7. Football and the Media * Announcers and Analysts * Football and the Written Word--Print Journalism Supports the Game * Women Enter the Locker Room * Magazines * Football Books * Football in Film * Football Songs and Lyrics * Football Jokes * Summary * Chapter 8. The Football Business * Money, Money Everywhere * Film Production * Advertising * Merchandise * Contract Advisers/Agents * Lawyers * Stadium Construction Profits * Gambling * Small Business Contracts * Summary * Chapter 9. Crime and American Football * The Benedict-Yaeger Research * Felonies and Misdemeanors: The Football Culture of Crime * Super Bowl XXXIV * Understanding Criminality Among Football Players * Gambling and Drugs * The Sociology of Crime * Summary * Chapter 10. The National Football League * Football Politics and the South * College Football Politics * The Commissioners * The NFL Machine * Urban Warfare * The International NFL * From Football to Politics * The NFL Community * Summary * Epilogue * Notes * Index

When violence overshadows the spirit of sporting competition: Italian football fans and their clubs

AbstractThis study addresses violence of fans during football matches. It focuses on group dynamics and sociodemographic variables as determinants of serious disturbances. Overall, 505 male and female football fans, who were either ‘fanatic’ or ‘moderate’ fans from Naples and Bologna, Italy, completed a questionnaire on attitudes towards football and violence in stadiums, and related matters, and gave self‐descriptions and descriptions of their own and other football clubs. It was hypothesized that, if ‘fanatic’ fans identify more strongly with their club than ‘moderate’ fans do, they should discriminate more sharply between the fan clubs and more likely participate in disturbances. Violent behaviour was also assumed to depend on the norms associated with different fan clubs. Moreover, participation in disturbances was hypothesized to depend on sociodemographic variables. The results suggest that individuals become more aggressive in groups, that the behaviour is controlled by group norms and, hence, that aggression depends on the group's acceptance of violence. The study also supports a rather traditional picture of ‘hooligans’: the football fans who participate in disturbances are, in general, young, unemployed, poorly educated fanatics who attributed their violence to external factors.