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Abstract
The Women's National Basketball Association is a professional women's basketball league that is notable for constructing a heteronormative ‘family friendly’ self-image while maintaining a sizable following of lesbian fans. This article examines this apparent contradiction through two case studies: a kiss-in protest by a group of New York WNBA fans, Lesbians for Liberty, and experiences by Minnesota Lynx lesbian fans of the marketing tactics and daily practices that regulate WNBA game spaces. By highlighting the socio-spatiality of the WNBA venue, it becomes clear how heteronormativity is naturalized, as well as accepted and resisted by lesbian fans in both New York and Minnesota. An overt act of resistance, however, failed to encourage the WNBA to reconsider its policies: the Liberty kiss-in, by situating lesbians as a counterpublic, foreclosed the range of attitudes held by lesbian fans. Moreover, as Minnesota Lynx fans demonstrate, WNBA spaces feel ‘safe enough’ to many lesbian fans. As a result, there remains a contest over the meanings and practices that define WNBA landscapes. To date, however, normative heterosexuality has contained the presence and visibility of the lesbian fan.
La Asociación Nacional de Básquetbol Femenino (WMBA en sus siglos ingles) es una liga de básquetbol profesional de mujeres que se destaca por construir una auto-imagen familiar y heteronormativa mientras mantiene un número considerable de fanáticas lesbianas. Éste artículo examina ésta contradicción aparente a través de dos estudios de caso: una protesta ‘kiss-in’ realizado por un grupo de fanáticas en Nueva York, las ‘Lesbianas por la Libertad’, y las experiencias que tenían fanáticas lesbianas del Minnesota Lynx con los tácticos de marketing y las prácticas diarias que regulan los espacios de juegos del WNBA. Subrayando el socio-espacialidad de las canchas del WNBA, se aclara cómo la heteronormatividad se hace natural y cómo también la aceptan y cuestionan las fanáticas lesbianas en Nueva York y Minnesota. Sin embargo, un acto abierto de resistencia no incitó al WNBA reconsiderar sus políticas: el ‘kiss-in’ por la libertad situó las lesbianas como contra-publico, y como consecuencia excluye el rango de actitudes de fanáticas lesbianas. Además, como demuestran las fanáticas de los Lynx, los espacios del WNBA parecen ‘bastantes seguros’ para muchas lesbianas. Como resultado, sigue una contienda sobre la significación y las prácticas que definen los paisajes del WNBA. Hasta hoy en día, no obstante, la heterosexualidad normativa ha incluido la presencia y visibilidad de la fanática lesbiana.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Richa Nagar, Karen Till, Jayne Caudwell and two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on earlier versions of this paper. I would also like to thank the University of Minnesota Geography Department and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in Women's Studies for assistance in funding this research.
Notes
1. In ‘Rethinking the Public Sphere’, Nancy Fraser (Citation1997) takes on Jürgen Habermas' (Citation1989) theorization of the bourgeois public sphere. She argues that subaltern counterpublics, or historically marginalized groups that ‘constitute alternative publics’, ‘function as bases and training grounds for agitational activities directed toward wider publics’ (p. 82) and help to expand democracy (p. 80). Lesbian identity politics, with its project to broaden heteronormative definitions of sexuality, fits within this framework.
2. I recognize the limitations of identity categories and I contend with this more thoroughly in my dissertation. For this article, I am drawing on interview data from women who self-identify as non-heterosexual (lesbian, bi, queer, etc.), and responses to questions that assume experience in game spaces without heterosexual privilege. Therefore, even those who identified themselves as bisexual commented on their experiences at WNBA games as they related to being of a marginalized population.
3. Textual and media analyses have contributed to an understanding of the ways that media coverage has (re)produced power and social norms; in these analyses, however, the spatiality of the social context has been assumed rather than interrogated.
4. In this article, I am using ‘arena spaces’ to refer strictly to the material environments in which WNBA games are played: the courtside areas of large sport stadiums. It should be noted, however, that I am conducting a more thorough spatial analysis of the sport landscape for my dissertation, including the sport stadiums and other aspects of the built environment used by WNBA teams.
5. This analysis does not begin to broach how these issues relate to lesbian coaches and players in the WNBA. Aside from the basic issue of gaining access to speak with these individuals, there are few ‘out’ athletes in the WNBA (many of those who came out publicly did so after they retired), and there are no publicly ‘out’ coaches. Consequently, there is no attention paid here to the ways lesbian coaches and players factor into or experience the WNBA game spaces.
6. These figures are approximate totals. New York's attendance decreased during the 2004 season, but figures may have been adversely affected by two unrelated factors: the month-long break during August for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and the temporary (six-game) relocation of the team to Radio City Music Hall. See < http://www.womensbasketballonline.com/wnba/wnbattendance.html> for more complete attendance statistics.
7. New York Liberty ticket prices vary, but US$30 covers a wide range of seats in the arena. For a comparable seating location at New York Knicks game, the price increases to US$110. Former WNBA president Val Ackerman noted the distinct make-up of the WNBA crowd in a press conference in 2002, available at < http://www.wnba.com/allstar2002/ackerman_020715.html>, and Lynx marketing staff also discussed how little cross-over there is between the NBA and WNBA fan bases.
8. The Los Angeles Sparks demonstrated the exception to this policy by once partnering with a lesbian bar in order to garner support for the team. This tactic generated a small flurry of media attention. See, for example, Smith (Citation2001).
9. This is just one limitation to identity politics and strategic essentialism. See also De Lauretis (Citation1986), Fuss (Citation1989), Butler (Citation1991), Brah (Citation1996).
10. Former WNBA president Val Ackerman was quoted as saying, ‘We welcome any fan who wants to come and support our sport. We have a very broad range of fans … to the extent that members of the lesbian community are indicating their support, I think that's terrific’ (Weir, Citation2001, p. 2). The Liberty similarly issued a press release the day of the intended protest stating that its games ‘bring together all facets of the city, including the gay and lesbian community’. This Associated Press story was subsequently cited in coverage of the protest in the New York Times, Washington Post and other news sources. See it posted on ESPN sports news, available at < http://espn.go.com/wnba/news/2002/0803/1413736.html>.
11. Local New York gay press, as well as online gay news sources, provided the most explicit detail about the kiss-in. There was brief national coverage of the protest—the five-line Associated Press wire mentioned above was picked up by several new sources. It generated very little discussion (for example, editorial commentary) in the mainstream press, however.