Gender And Soccer Argumentative Analysis

Sports and soccer are social practices which provide us with a wide range of social interaction with passion and emotion. If we think about English soccer and fandom, most people would picture a man drinking beer and supporting the team he is passionate about. Actually, this image is common, according to Tofoletti, female fans are more or less ignored; indeed, “historical studies have demonstrated the exclusion of women from many sports and their highly restrictive participation in others” (2013: 2). Certainly, it considers to what extent stereotypes of female in contrast to male sports fan reveal about gender differences in soccer. This paper argues that sexism is strongly embedded in soccer, meaning sexist attitudes and actions continue

It is described as a division of classifying objects or persons with cognitive bias or discrimination on or against something/somebody with behavioral bias (Fiske 2018: 1). This cognitive bias reveals the common pattern of stereotyping women to show interest in sexual objectification and attractiveness of male star players. Furthermore, the feminine image is represented as “sobbing, screaming and fainting, […] assumes that an uncontrollable erotic energy is sparked by the chance to see or touch a male idol” (Jenson qtd. in Pope 2010: 24), therefore, women are more trying to express themselves through cheering chants to encourage the team and to behave in typical feminine ways (2010: 24). Studies have shown that there are gender differences in attitudes and behavior, for instance: Men have other motivations to watch soccer, for example, they are more interested in discussing sports and are motivated by the need for self-esteem (Dietz-Uhler and Gantz and Wenner qtd. in Schallhorn, Knoll & Schramm 2017: 3). Nevertheless, these stereotypes are seen as a given condition, which is an established conception of most of male soccer fans, to describe fans in

In particular, mass media represents soccer as a man kind of sport and narrow the knowledge and expertise of women: Not only the limited confidence towards moderators but also sexism towards female fans considering their interest for soccer. Above all, it seems pertinent to remember, even if women behave in a certain way, which is often unintentionally that there is no reason to disagree with their knowledge and “real” interest for soccer. This is the reason why, it is crucial how we handle stereotypes in terms of our behavior, language and prejudiced perception towards