The UEFA Women’s Euros is in full swing, but a recent YouGov survey showed that interest in women’s football still lags well behind the men’s game. What does this mean in terms of gender equality in the sport? Expert on women, football and inequalities, Professor Stacey Pope, explains.
In recent years, we have seen a huge rise in media coverage of the England women’s team. Not only have there been more front- and back-page stories but also a move towards more respectful coverage.
There has been a shift away from the condescending approach that has long dominated women’s sport, for example, through sexualising women players or using infantilising language by referring to players as ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’.
The way women’s sport, and in this case women’s football, is reported is essential to advancing gender equality. My research has shown that increased media coverage can lead to positive shifts in attitude among men, although there is still a long way to go.
It’s key that this kind of respectful high-quality coverage must be sustained throughout the year rather than just limited to major events. To advance gender equality, it’s also important that the media treat women’s football in the same way as men’s football - with praise for exceptional athleticism but also criticism of poor-quality play.
However, this does not mean that sexism and misogyny have disappeared. Whenever there are advances in gender equality, there is also a backlash.
A recent study we did at Durham University showed that openly misogynistic attitudes towards women’s sport still dominate amongst male football fans. There were plenty of fans with progressive views, but they were not as common as those with hostile and sexist attitudes. The fans with openly misogynistic attitudes saw women’s sport as inferior and its media coverage as ‘positive discrimination’ or ‘PC nonsense’.
Addressing this anti-feminist backlash will take more than simply increasing the visibility of women in sport through media coverage. Football does not operate in a vacuum. If sexism is rife in wider society, this transfers to the football arena.
What is needed to reach equality and justice on the pitch and beyond is a gender revolution. We need everyone involved, from players to managers, governing bodies, fans, media industry, sponsors, to take a clear and uncompromising stance against sexism to promote social justice and address gender inequalities.
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