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

2. We’ve all seen it…

4. To promote heterosexuality and masculinity

6. 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?

7. Important Terms

8. 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

9. 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

10. Poof- an English slang word for a homosexual male Tart- another English slang word for a homosexual male

11. Details of the Case Study

12. 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.

13. 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

14. Observations - all information was from observations and field notes on the field and off - no interviews were conducted

17. Two Types of Discourses used by the coaches in attempts to motivate their team on the field masculinity establishing discourse masculinity challenging discourse

19. 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.”

20. 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”

21. 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.”

23. the masculinity of a player or the team

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

25. Other findings include: Athlete to Athlete Discourse Resistance to Discourse & Off the Field Talk

26. Athlete to Athlete Discourse “Get up you pussy”

27. 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.”

28. 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?”

29. 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

30. What Does This Mean?

31. 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.”

32. 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