Blog
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Women’s sports have long been plagued by the issues of gender discrimination, stereotyping, homophobia, sexualization, as well as other common issues faced by women in daily life and in fields traditionally dominated by men. These issues have impacted the development of many women’s sports, ranging from hockey to, of particular note, soccer/football. Women’s soccer is undoubtedly dominated on the international level by the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT). Since the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in China in 1991, the USWNT has never once placed below third and has earned themselves four championship titles. This is…
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One of the most interesting ideas in Chapter 7 of The History of Women’s Football is that women have always played the game, even when they were told they couldn’t. Women’s football didn’t just suddenly appear in the modern era; it has existed for decades, but it has constantly faced barriers like bans, lack of funding, and negative stereotypes. Instead of growing naturally like the men’s game, women’s football has had to fight for survival at every stage of its development. This idea connects strongly with the epilogue from Futbolera, which shows that even today, women’s…
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By: Abraham Cruz-Hernandez While reading The Atlantic we can see that Neymar and Marta are the top soccer players of Brazil and it highlights the gender inequalities of these top soccer players. It highlights the way they both are portrayed differently Neymar is portrayed as a global icon in modern day soccer. He is surrounded by sponsorships, main media attention, and immersive financial gains. He represents modern day Brazilian soccer culture and benefits from being a male and being amplified to the main soccer stage. Meanwhile Marta who is a well known soccer player is being…
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As a nation, Brazil’s footballing identity has been tied to ginga, which is described as a dance-like style of play that promotes a player’s creativity on the pitch. This style of play has been associated with elite male players like Neymar and Pelé, but female footballers like Marta as equally important to this playstyle. In “‘Pele With a Skirt’: The Unequal Fortunes of Brazil’s Soccer Stars”, what stands out most is the lack of and support for female footballers who have a huge impact on the game of football on and off the pitch. Marta has…
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The challenge faced by women in soccer still isn’t solved, and developments only began popping up within the bast 50 years or so. So much of the history of women’s soccer is lost, either because of the ban on it in certain countries, or out of federation greed who were scared interest from male games would be taken away. So many obstacles still stand in the way of women’s leagues and wanting to achieve true equality with men’s leagues, and in the readings for this week, we see how these icons fought for their place on…
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USA Women’s National Team, 2024 CONCACAF Championship As discussed in our last block of readings, women’s soccer had to grow as an extension of men’s soccer through extenuating circumstances, such as World War 1. Despite this, women’s soccer in some areas of the world and through varying levels of effectiveness has started to grown independently of men’s soccer, and has seen it’s own distinct highs that some people may have thought as unachievable. Through efforts that eventually reached the FIFA organization, women’s national soccer teams have come out to record breaking crowds, sold out stadiums, and…
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When looking at the growth and importance of soccer, one must not confine their studies simply to men’s soccer or soccer in general. It is important to look at women’s soccer and the journey it has taken as it is much different to what many know of soccer. Specifically, women’s soccer has a much more unique origin in regards to how it first started to be played and how it was viewed. Even in this regard however, it differs from its start in England to its start in the United States, with it taking different roles…
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Women’s football has been around way longer than most people think, but the way it developed shows how much power and gender roles shaped the sport. In The History of Women’s Football, Jean Williams explains that women were already playing organized football in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and people were actually showing up to watch. It was not some small thing either, it had real attention and growth. But instead of continuing to build, the sport got pushed back when organizations like the Football Association banned women from playing on official fields. That decision…
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Both of these weeks’ readings explored the introduction of women to football. The bunk reading shared the US perspective, and the Williams shared the UK’s perspective on women playing soccer. I thought the vastly different reactions of both places were very fascinating. The UK wanted to put an immediate stop to women post World War I, while the U.S. was intrigued by the idea of women playing soccer, especially in the schools. Women’s soccer in the U.S seemed to be heavily integrated within the college and schooling system. Therefore, drawing the famous UK women’s teams to…
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Women’s football didn’t just appear randomly it took lots of set backs before it started to create growth and popularity around the world, the readings looked into how women’s football started with key milestones throughout the early 20th century. The readings look into both Europe and the US growth of the sport. The readings both use similar ways to say that the main start to women’s football’s popularity is through moments where society temporarily allowed women more roles in the public eye, like world war 1 when the men went to fight, as well as it…
