Women’s football has evolved, but prejudice among men is prevalent

One seek conducted in the United Kingdom showed that among football fans, Men who have overtly misogynistic attitudes Regarding women’s sports, they still represent the majority, at 68 percent. Progressive attitudes were also strongly represented, at 24%, but are not as common as hostile and sexist attitudes. Embarrassing misogynists, who hide their biased attitudes, amount to 8 percent.

Hey Stady, based on a survey of 1,950 male football fans recruited from UK fan forums, led by scientist Stacey Pope of Durham University. Researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of South Australia also participated in the study.

This is the first time a study has shed light on male football fans’ attitudes towards women’s sports. This comes at a time when women’s football in many countries is becoming more visible in terms of media exposure.

Highlights highlighted by the British poll are the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, where the England team finished third. The World Cup was particularly notable because, for the first time, all of England’s matches were broadcast live, while viewing figures around the world broke records. Coverage in the print media was also tremendous.

In Brazil, where women’s football was banned by law from 1941 to 1979, due to its “nature”, the sport reached the peak of its popularity at the 2019 World Cup in France. For the first time, TV Globo broadcast the tournament on national television. With the broadcast, the largest Brazilian broadcaster received more views than the average time slot in all matches of the team led by Marta. We were eliminated in the round of 16.

According to Professor Stacey Pope, the increase in coverage of women’s football has changed the perception of some men towards the sport. In any case, the researcher continues, the results of the study showed that progressive attitudes were strongly represented, even if they were not as common as hostile and sexist attitudes. “There are numerous examples of men from all generations displaying extremely sexist and misogynistic attitudes,” she said in an interview with VEJA.

The Durham University scientist says the research could be useful in analyzing social misogyny more broadly. For example, consider men’s responses to women in other settings, such as the workplace, education or creative industries.

“here [no Reino Unido]“Organizations have faced pressure to address gender inequality,” Pope said. “Institutional messaging may be pro-feminist, but inequalities still exist, such as the pay gap and the sheer prevalence of sexual harassment, misogyny and abuse in these environments.”

But she points to a path that includes sports: “Given that research has shown that greater media exposure can change men’s attitudes, we call for more media coverage of women’s sports to promote greater gender equality and promote social justice.”