Female football fans strategically downplay femininity to gain power in stadiums
A new study of female supporters in Swedish football reveals that women deliberately adopt masculine behavior and minimize feminine expression to be taken seriously in male-dominated stadium spaces. The finding has implications for how organizations design inclusive fan experiences and challenge ingrained gender hierarchies in sports culture and beyond.
Originaltitel: Female football supporters in Malmö: the struggle for space
<p>This article examines the lived experiences of female football supporters in Malmö. It aims to gain a deeper understanding of how female supporters relate to space and take place in the stands. Ten supporters organized in the separatist female supporter group Malmösystrar (Malmö Sisters) were interviewed. A feminist analysis was carried out using Beverley Skeggs’ theoretical understanding of gender as a social position through the concepts of space and femininity. The results show how female supporters express femininity and masculinity to gain power. Female supporters are marginalized through their social position of being women. To take space, female supporters tactically oppose feminism. Femininity is not a capital on the stands to gain power. However, when female supporters organize and their power increases, they express more femininity in looks and more masculinity in behaviour compared to before.</p>