Negotiating Gender in Professional Soccer: An Analysis of Female Footballers in the United States
Journal Title: Choregia - Year 2014, Vol 10, Issue 1
Abstract
Youth soccer is thriving in the United States but the country's professional soccer leagues over the past couple decades have had mixed results in terms of commercial viability with some leagues surviving (e.g., MLS) and others ceasing (e.g., WUSA). While scholars and practitioners may offer explanations regarding the reasons for the specific challenges facing women's professional soccer leagues, the present study looked at this subject by examining one group of stakeholders - female elite athletes - and the players’ perceptions of gender in the USA professional soccer program. The findings of this qualitative analysis were concentrated into three interconnected themes. The first theme involved the participants' perceptions of role models and their socialization as soccer players. Media images and the invisibility of the female athlete formed the second theme. The third theme was the sexualization of elite female bodies and transgressions of compulsory heterosexuality boundaries. The analysis of the interviews revealed an interesting paradox of elite female athletes using gender to understand sports. The interviewed athletes used stereotypical notions of masculinity to increase their legitimacy as elite athletes, while at the same time devaluing the abilities of female coaches by using stereotypical notions of femininity. In addition to discussing the empirical results and interconnected themes, the implications of the findings are also detailed.
Authors and Affiliations
Elsa Kristiansen| Department of Cultural and Social Studies, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Trygve B. Broch| Department of Cultural and Social Studies, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Paul M. Pedersen| Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP12597
- DOI http:dx.doi.org/10.4127/ch.2014.0084
- Views 389
- Downloads 25
Distinguishing Event Spectator Spending Profiles: Projected Impacts of the 2009 U.S. Open Golf Championship
Spectators at mega-sport events are an aggregation of market segments with distinct consumer behaviors. Relatively few economic impact studies have distinguished spectator market segments or the event tourists crowding...
U.S. High School Girls Sports and Booster Clubs
This paper explores United States high school booster club activity and its potential effect on gender equity by examining high schools’ booster club models – one all-school, all-sport booster club or a booster cl...
Is That a Nike? The Purchase of Counterfeit Sporting Goods through the Lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior
The purpose of this study was to examine the consumer behavior related to the purchase of counterfeit sporting goods (CSGs) based on the theory of planned behavior. The results showed that consumers’ attitude, subje...
Applying the Balanced Scorecard Strategic Evaluation Method to a University Athletic Department
The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has been extensively used in manufacturing organisations, service organisations, non-profit organisations, and governmental organizations with outstanding results (Kaplan and Norton, 20...
An Investigation into the Familiarity of Physical Education Experts with Historical, Social and Cultural Aspects of Olympic Games
The purpose of this study was to survey An Investigation into the Familiarity of Physical Education Experts with Historical, Social and Cultural Aspects of Olympic Games. 120 of the physical education experts (The mem...