sexuality – Football Scholars Forum

In the final session before taking a much-deserved mid-season holiday break, the Football Scholars Forum will discuss the impact and aftermath of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. The session is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 1, at 1:45pm Eastern U.S. Time (-5 GMT).

The online discussion is set to include many of the writers and scholars who expertly contributed to international media coverage of the tournament.

As is traditional with FSF, a common set of readings (and a video lecture!) will help spark and sustain conversation on a number of topics and questions related to the WWC: from FIFA, plastic pitches, and global inequalities to match ethnographies, the first U.S. victory in 16 years, and what’s in store for women’s football in the years to come.

Please RSVP to Alex Galarza (galarza DOT alex AT gmail) and provide your Skype username if participating for the first time. Follow the convo on Twitter via the hashtag #FSFWWC15

Shared Resources

Jean Williams, “Women and Soccer: Research Agendas and Policy Debates,” plenary lecture at The Futures of Women’s Soccer Symposium, Duke University Forum for Scholars and Publics, April 10, 2015 [watch]
Jean Williams, “Women’s soccer evolution a product of pre-World-Cup-era resolve,” Upfront & Onside/SI.com, June 9, 2015
Brian Oliver, “All is not as rosy as it seems in the world of women’s football ahead of World Cup,” Inside The Games, June 7, 2015
Laurent Dubois and Brenda Elsey, “As Women’s World Cup nears its end, perspective on a month in Canada,” Upfront & Onside/SI.com, July 3, 2015
Shireen Ahmed and Dave Zirin, “African Artistry and Anger at the Women’s World Cup,” The Nation, July 1, 2015
Laurent Dubois, “France vs. Germany quarterfinal highlights best of women’s soccer,” Upfront & Onside/SI.com, June 27, 2015
Brenda Elsey, “A first-hand account of Brazil’s Women’s World Cup clash with Spain,” Upfront & Onside/SI.com, June 17, 2015
Moya Dodd, “FIFA, football and women: why reform must specify inclusion and investment,” Submission to Francois Carrard, Chair of FIFA Reform Committee, October 2015
Rose Eveleth, “An Ode to Sydney Leroux’s Eyelashes,” Screamer, June 30, 2015
Andrew Guest, “Field Notes: An Anthropology of the Women’s World Cup” The Allrounder 26 June 2015

Additional Resources

Series Upfront & Onside/SI.com Throughout the Women’s World Cup an array of accomplished writers and scholars filed regularly from Canada with an eye on bringing a wide-ranging scope to the 2015 tournament. The cast of writers featured many Football Scholars Forum members, including: Laurent Dubois, Jean Williams, Brenda Elsey, Jennifer Doyle, Shireen Ahmed, Joshua Nadel and Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff.

Shireen Ahmed, “Women’s World Cup May Seem Like a Feminist Fairy Tale, But the Fight’s Not Over”, RH Reality Check, July 10, 2015

Jean Williams, “When Two Elephants Fight, It is the Grass That Suffers,” Football Scholars Forum, December 1, 2015

Gwendolyn Oxenham, “Pinoe’s Biggest Fan,” Ussoccer.com, June 14, 2015

Andrew Guest, “A Thinking Fan’s Guide to the Women’s World Cup” The Allrounder 4 June 2015

Margery Masterson, “Watching the Women’s World Cup in the USA,” womenworkvalue2015, June 2015

CIES, Women’s Football Survey 2014 [pdf]

More links forthcoming.

By Brenda Elsey and Joshua Nadel

Dr. Brenda Elsey is an associate professor of history at Hofstra University and the author of Citizens and Sportsmen: Fútbol and Politics in Twentieth Century Chile. Follow her on twitter @politicultura. Dr. Joshua Nadel is assistant professor of Latin American and Caribbean history and associate director of the Global Studies Program at North Carolina Central University. His book Fútbol! Why Soccer Matters in Latin America was published in 2014. Follow him on twitter @jhnadel

Not to complain, but it’s not easy to be a feminist and a scholar of sports. On the one hand, many researchers are hostile to feminist scholarship. On the other hand, many feminist scholars express disgust at the mere mention of studying sport, seeing it as an overdetermined site of sexism. Even scholars who have embraced the study of masculinity and recognize the importance of gender often neglect to discuss how it shapes women’s lives. In practice, this has meant that men remain the protagonists of history.

In Latin America, there is a further criticism from our peers. Some argue that feminism is an imperialist imposition, an import that has distracted from the need to analyze economic and political inequalities, despite the fact that gender is a prime determinant of one’s position in both of those hierarchies. It is surprising how otherwise critical and brilliant minds react to this work. Several of the reactions can be grouped and, when taken seriously, reveal important assumptions that need to be overturned. In her excellent post, Jean Williams mentions similar misconceptions. We think it’s worth reflecting on them at length.

Tag: sexuality

The 2015 Women’s World Cup: Impact and Aftermath

Shared Resources

Additional Resources

Marimachos*: On Women’s Football in Latin America