The sports sphere has historically been a male-dominated space, conceived and created—despite early resistance—as a place for men and for the construction, reproduction, and performance of masculinity. In this seminar, led in Spanish, Joan Sanfelix Albeda discusses the specific case of football, drawing both on football as a “spectator sport” and on his fieldwork experience with grassroots football in the Spanish context.
Despite significant changes, Joan argues that we continue to observe dynamics that position certain sporting spaces as sites of resistance to perceived threats against the gender order and traditional masculinity. As a result, transformative approaches that understand sport as a powerful vehicle for social change coexist with clear forms of resistance to these developments. Such changes are perceived by some men as processes that challenge one of the last remaining anchors of normative masculinity in contemporary societies.
Watch the full webinar here
