ABSTRACT
Sports fandom research has typically focused upon the importance of sport for men and constructing men’s hegemonic identities. However, a growing body of research seeks to redress this balance by centralising the experiences of women as sports fans. Here, we summarize current debates and emergent issues in this research, drawing on existing literature in the field and findings from our own research in the UK and Australia, to map key developments in theorising women’s sport fan practices and experiences. First, we establish how women’s sport fandom has been characterised relative to men’s fandom as ‘inferior’ and how women have been constructed as ‘inauthentic’ sports fans. Drawing on a preliminary model which examines two broadly drawn female fan types (‘hot’ and ‘cool’), we challenge perceptions of women as inferior sports fans. Next, we explore gender performativity and women’s fandom. We note that the experiences of women fans differ based on their race, sexuality and class positions, but that the ideal-typical woman fan has usually been conceptualised as white, middle class and heterosexual. Finally, we look at mediated representations of women sport fans and demonstrate how discourses of female empowerment and capacity are shaping perceptions of women as followers of sport.
