ABSTRACT
The chapter presents the perspective of male fans on a growing number of women in fandom culture and aims to fill the gap in existing researches. The analysis is divided into three parts. First, the chapter reveals the reasons for the growing number of female fans that have emerged in male narratives. In this context, the issues of safety and modern stadium infrastructure are discussed by male fans most often. The second investigated issue concerns the roles assigned to women by male fans. The conducted analysis has allowed distinguishing two major roles: (1) ‘feminine’ – women as ‘‘girlfriends’, ‘wives’ or ‘partners’ treated as not authentic fans and (2) ‘one of the lads’ when women do not perform femininity and are treated as mates. The last part of the chapter investigates a potential influence of women on male-dominated fans’ communities. The dominant narratives demonstrating the stadium as the ‘bastion of masculinity’ are holding on tight, and the process of women’s admission to the leading roles in the community of football fans is progressing slowly.
