Female Fans, Gender Relations and Football Fandom Challenging the Brotherhood Culture Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society Series

This book assesses the transformation of football fan culture from a gender perspective. Referring to the notions of homosociality, hegemonic masculinity and performative perspectives on gender and fandom, it investigates the processes of women entering the world of football fandom.

Drawing on multidimensional qualitative and quantitative research, the book analyses different aspects of female fandom, such as women?s socialisation to be a fan, building their sense of fan identity, ways of performing fandom, and gender. Also, it explores the response of male fans by shedding light on the sense-making process of a growing number of female fans in the stands and its consequences for prevailingly male football culture. This study stands out for its richness and diversity of empirical material used in order to make a significant contribution to our understanding of social dynamics related to the changing nature of female football fandom.

The book is fascinating reading for researchers and students in a broad range of areas, including gender studies, sociology of sport, football, women?s studies and Central Eastern European studies. It is also a valuable resource for scholars, and football and club authorities who have an interest in understanding the development of female football fandom and its impact on the male fandom community.

Introduction. Part 1: Female Fandom: Theoretical and Empirical Investigation. 1. Researching Female Fandom. 2. Theorising Female Fandom. Part 2: The Local Context of Development of Female Fandom. 3. History of Football (Male) Fandom in Poland. 4. Transformation of Women’s Status and Gender Relations in Poland. 5. How Can We Explore Female Fandom? Part 3: Performing Female Fandom in the Male Reservoir. 6. Women’s Initiation into Football Fandom: Men as Brokers. 7. Female Fans at Football Matches. 8. Reasons for Attending Football Matches. 9. Participation in Fandom Culture. 10. Female Fans as Customers. 11. Perception of a Football Stadium as (Social) Space for Women. Part 4: Female Fans in the Eyes of Others: Male and Football Stakeholders Perspective. 12. The Response of Male Fans to the Growing Number of Females in Football Stands. 13. Female Fans in the View of Other Football Stakeholders. Conclusion.

Honorata Jakubowska is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology of the Individual and Social Relations at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland.

Dominik Antonowicz is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Science and Higher Education Research at Nicolas Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland.

Radosław Kossakowski is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Scientific Council of Sociology at the University of Gdańsk, Poland, where he is also Director of the Institute of Sociology.