Recently we spoke with Associate Professor Stacey Pope, who is the Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
Stacey joined Durham University in 2013. She is interested in issues of gender, sport, and inequality and is a leading figure in the area of women sports fans. Her research in this area has been ground-breaking and she is the author of The Feminization of Sports Fandom. Stacey has also researched the experiences of female fans of Newcastle United.
Dr Stacey Pope
Q: Can you tell us what your research interests are?
A: My research focuses on women in football and inequality. I look at women who are fans of both men’s and women’s football as well as men football fans and issues of sexism and misogyny. One part of my research delves into media coverage of women’s football, which is breaking new ground in the UK since we have entered a ‘new age’ of media coverage of women’s sport with a shift towards greater gender equality. The second part of that project looks at women’s fandom at an international level and conducts interviews with women fans of women’s international football.
The other aspect of my research is women as fans of men’s football, and the sexism and misogyny they face in person, for example at stadiums and pubs, online, and in the greater media. The research also analyses how men are responding to the growing visibility of women’s sport in the media and the overwhelming majority of openly misogynistic attitudes.
Woman playing football
Q: What motivated you to study misogyny in football?
A: There is so much work on men and football, but there’s no work on women fans of football or male fans' attitudes towards women. Sport plays such an important role in the lives of people, particularly when we know that millions of UK citizens are fans of football, and there was a lack of research on women’s experiences in this sector. As women’s sport has been increasingly visible, it’s also important to look at the experience of women fans of women’s football. This research highlights that football historically has been a male-dominated space, and the lack of research on women in football or their experiences reflects football as a bastion of masculinity.
Football pitch
Q: Why is this work important?
A: The football industry does not currently cater towards women, and women are often not welcome in these male-dominated spaces. As society’s attitudes are changing towards women and misogyny, football needs to change to reflect this. To date, there is no mechanism in football to identify, report, respond to, and remedy sexism in football. I feel that it is important that we create an environment in football, both within the stadium and beyond, that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all women.
You can read about Stacey's work on our website:
- Women in sport: misogyny among male fans is rife but progressive masculinities are on the rise
- Football clubs in the ‘dark ages’ over gender equality
- Women sidelined for leadership roles in sport
- Report calls on men’s professional football clubs to tackle sexism
- Why football needs a gender revolution
- Euro 2022 can be a catalyst for women’s football in England – here’s how
- How fans fall in love with women’s football