gender norms, masculinity, & sports

Gender Norm Reinforcement Through SportA summary and Analysis of an academic article

We’ve all seen it…

What is the truth?...

Some have said sports are:- For teaching self esteem and

education- To promote heterosexuality and

masculinity- To ensure male dominance

Soccer player, Adi Adams did research on his own team to find out for himself

The Questions

- What kind of discourses are used in sport interaction?

- Do the discourses of sport contribute to the masculine identities of these soccer players?

Important Terms

Gender- the identity people take on usually being man or woman and the actions associated with these identities. Gender is constantly established and challenged by others.

Discourse- the language and conversation for a specific setting

Ethnographic Research- research done for quality not quantity where a small group is studied thoroughly for a period of time

Hegemonic- the ideal and most dominant of something, usually an unreasonable standard

Poof- an English slang word for a homosexual male

Tart- another English slang word for a homosexual male

Details of the Case Study

Methods

Adi Adams observed coaches and players on his semi-pro soccer team in England.

The information for the article is from his ethnographic study.

Participants

• 22 players• age 18-25 • most players identify as white • all players identify as heterosexual • one head coach • two assistant coaches• all coaches white and heterosexual

Observations

- all information was from observations and field notes on the field and off

- no interviews were conducted

Coding & Analysis

- Adams took field notes after practices, games, and social outings with the team

- Two other authors helped Adams conclude what the field notes revealed

Findings

Two Types of Discoursesused by the coaches in attempts to

motivate their team on the field

• masculinity establishing discourse

• masculinity challenging discourse

Masculinity Establishing Discourse

“This is a man’s game, if you haven’t got the balls for it,

there’s a women’s team you can play on.”

masculinity establishing discourse

The coaches :

• reinforce that soccer is a “mans game”

• portray male athletes as “warriors” with violence

• More quotes: “slit their fucking throats” and “Cut their balls off”

Masculinity Challenging Discourse

“I don’t know what you’re doing out there, they’re all over you. Now show some balls and stop

acting like a bunch of fuckin’ tarts.”

Masculinity Challenging Discourse

Coaches question:

- the effort and commitment of a player

- the masculinity of a player or the team

- Another example: coach to player: “what are you, a pussy?”

Other findings include:

Athlete to Athlete Discourse

Resistance to Discourse&

Off the Field Talk

Athlete to Athlete Discourse

“Get up you pussy”

Athlete to Athlete Discourse:

• questioning toughness or dedication of a player• can be within same team or with opposing team• questioning their masculinity

• Other phrases include: “you’re not so tough now are you,” “be a man. Stop whining,” and “fuck off you poof, I hardly touched you.”

Resistance to Hyper Masculine Discourses

On occasion players rejected these crude comments in the form of jokes

EXAMPLE

Coach: “Knock his fucking head off”

Player to another player: “is he sure? Why don’t we just hunt them down or set fire to their [team] bus while we’re at it?”

Off The Field In social settings Adams found that players:• were not homophobic

-they had gay friends

• didn’t use hyper masculine discourse -they discussed skin care and were supportive

• were not aggressive -they did not compete much or hit each other

What Does This Mean?

So…

Adams et al. found in their research that the “football (soccer) setting is much more than

just an arena in which these men learn masculinity, it is also an arena in which their masculinity is stratified through success and

failure, violence, and subordination.”

But maybe…• This discourse is only used on the field in a

sport context

• The meanings behind the sport discourse are not how many players and coaches really feel

• These discourses do regulate masculinity, but the discourse does not carry off field