‘Forgive me for saying, but rugby is not a game for women:’ an exploration of contemporary attitudes towards women’s rugby union

References

• Abraham, T. (2020, March 8). Seven in ten support equal coverage for women’s sport, but not at the cost of men’s coverage. YouGov. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/sport/articles-reports/2020/03/08/seven-ten-support-equal-coverage-womens-sport-not-
   Google Scholar
• Allianz Premier15. (2023). Live. Allianz Premier15s. https://www.premier15s.com/live-streams
   Google Scholar
• Allison, R. (2018). Kicking Centre: Gender and the selling of women’s professional soccer. Rutgers University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Allison, R., & Pope, S. (2022). Becoming fans: Socialization and motivations of fans of the England and U.S. Women’s National Football Teams. Sociology of Sport Journal, 39(3), 287–297. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0036
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Anderson, E. (2009). Inclusive masculinities: The changing nature of masculinities. Routledge.
   Google Scholar
• BBC Sport. (2022, December 9). WSL average attendances up by 200% after women’s Euro 2022 victory. BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63913485
   Google Scholar
• BBC Sport. (2023, January 13). The premier 15s: BBC live fixtures. BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63839755#:∼:text=The%20Premier%2015s%202022%2D23,up%20on%20the%20BBC%20iPlayer
   Google Scholar
• Biscomb, K., & Griggs, G. (2013). ‘A splendid effort!’Print media reporting of England’s women’s performance in the 2009 Cricket World Cup. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 48(1), 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690211432061
   Google Scholar
• Brown, L. E. C. (2015). Sporting space invaders: Elite bodies in track and field, a South African context. South African Review of Sociology, 46(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2014.989666
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bruce, T. (2017). Sportswomen in the media: An analysis of international trends in Olympic and everyday coverage. Sports and Gender Studies, 15, 24–39.
   Google Scholar
• Bryson, L. (1994). Sport and the maintenance of masculine hegemony. In S. Birrell & C. L. Cole (Eds.), Women, sport and culture (pp. 47–64). Human Kinetics.
   Google Scholar
• Chandler, T. J. L., & Nauright, J. (1996). Introduction: Rugby, manhood and identity. In. J. Nauright, & T. J. L. Chandler (Eds.), Making men: Rugby and masculine identity (pp. 1–12). Frank Cass.
   Google Scholar
• Cleland, J., Pope, S., & Williams, J. (2020). “I do worry that football will become over-feminized”: Ambiguities in fan reflections on the gender order in men’s professional Football in the United Kingdom. Sociology of Sport Journal, 37(4), 366–375. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2019-0060
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and power. Polity Press.
   Google Scholar
• Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Polity Press.
   Google Scholar
• Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27640853 https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cooky, C., Messner, M. A., & Musto, M. (2015). “It’s Dude Time!”: A quarter century of excluding women’s sports in televised news and highlight shows. Communication & Sport, 3(3), 261–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515588761
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Creedon, P. J. (1994). Women, media and sport: Creating and reflecting gender values. In P. J. Creedon (Ed.), Women, media and sport: challenging gender values (pp. 3–27). Sage Publications.
   Google Scholar
• Dietz, B., Bean, J., & Omaits, M. (2021). Gender differences in sport fans: A replication and extension. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 44(2), 183–198.
   Google Scholar
• Donnelly, A. (2022, November 9). World Cup run goes hand in hand with growth of women’s game. Sport England. https://www.sportengland.org/blogs/world-cup-run-goes-hand-hand-growth-womens-game
   Google Scholar
• Dunning, E. (1994). Sport as a male preserve. In S. Birrell & C., L. Cole (Eds.), Women, sport and culture (pp. 163–179). Human Kinetics.
   Google Scholar
• Esmonde, K., Cooky, C., & Andrews, D. L. (2015). “It’s supposed to be about the love of the game, not the love of Aaron Rodgers’ eyes”: Challenging the exclusions of women’s sports fans. Sociology of Sport Journal, 32(1), 22–48. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2014-0072
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ezzell, M. B. (2009). “Barbie Dolls” on the pitch: Identity work, defensive othering, and inequality in women’s rugby. Social Problems, 56(1), 111–131. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2009.56.1.111
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Faludi, S. (1992). Backlash: The undeclared war against women. Chatto & Windus.
   Google Scholar
• Garry, T. (2022, December 26). Women’s sport is booming – And that is borne out by the statistics. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-sport/2022/12/26/womens-sport-booming-borne-statistics/
   Google Scholar
• Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction ritual. Pantheon Books.
   Google Scholar
• Hardy, E. (2015). The female ‘apologetic’ behaviour within Canadian women’s rugby: athlete perceptions and media influences. Sport in Society, 18(2), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2013.854515
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hill, J. (1996). British sports history: A post modern future? Journal of Sport History, 23(1), 1–19.
   Google Scholar
• Hoeber, L., & Kerwin, S. (2013). Exploring the experiences of female sport fans: A collaborative self-ethnography. Sport Management Review, 16(3), 326–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2012.12.002
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Joncheray, H., & Tlili, H. (2013). Are there still social barriers to women’s rugby? Sport in Society, 16(6), 772–788. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2012.753528
   Google Scholar
• Jones, K. W. (2008). Female fandom: Identity, sexism and men’s professional football in England. Sociology of Sport Journal, 25(4), 516–537. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.25.4.516
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kane, M. J., & Greendorfer, S. L. (1994). The media’s role in accommodating and resisting stereotyped images of women in sport. In P. J. Creedon (Ed.), Women, media and sport: Challenging gender values (pp. 28–44). Sage Publications.
   Google Scholar
• Kanemasu, Y. (2022). Fissures in gendered nationalism: the rise of women’s rugby in Fiji. National Identities, 25(4), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608944.2022.2132477
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kitson, R. (2023, March 3). Women’s rugby revolution gathers pace but the sums don’t yet add up. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/03/womens-rugby-revolution-gathers-pace-but-the-sums-still-dont-add-up
   Google Scholar
• Leslie-Walker, A., & Mulvenna, C. (2022). The Football Association’s Women’s Super League and female soccer fans: Fan engagement and the importance of supporter clubs. Soccer & Society, 23(3), 314–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2022.2037218
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mairs, G. (2023). Six Nations ends TikTok sponsorship with £15m-per-year Guinness deal. Telegraph Online. Retrieved March, 2024, from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/12/12/six-nations-ends-tiktok-sponsorship-with-15m-guinness-deal/
   Google Scholar
• Messner, M. A. (2007). Out of play: Critical essays on gender and sport. State University of New York Press.
   Google Scholar
• Musto, M., Cooky, C., & Messner, M. A. (2017). “From Fizzle to Sizzle!” Televised Sports News and the Production of Gender-Bland Sexism. Gender & Society, 31(5), 573–596. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243217726056
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nauright, J. (1996). Sustaining masculine hegemony. In J. Nauright and T., J., L., Chandler (Eds.), Making men: Rugby and masculine identity (pp. 227–244). Frank Cass.
   Google Scholar
• Nauright, J., & Carle, A. (1999). Crossing the line: Women playing rugby union. In J. Nauright and T. J. L. Chandler (Eds.), Making the rugby world (pp. 128–148). Frank Cass.
   Google Scholar
• O’Neill, D., & Mulready, M. (2015). The invisible woman? Journalism Practice, 9(5), 651–668. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2014.965925
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Petty, K., & Pope, S. (2019). A new age for media coverage of women’s sport? An analysis of English media coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Sociology, 53(3), 486–502. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038518797505
   Google Scholar
• Pfister, G. (2015). Assessing the sociology of sport: On women and football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(4–5), 563–569. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690214566646
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pfister, G., Lenneis, V., & Mintert, S. (2013). Female fans of men’s football – A case study in Denmark. Soccer & Society, 14(6), 850–871. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2013.843923
   Google Scholar
• Phellas, C. N., Bloch, A., & Seale, C. (2012). Structured methods: Interviews, questionnaires and observation. In C. Seale (Ed.), Researching society and culture (3rd., pp. 181–205).
   Google Scholar
• Pocock, M., & Skey, M. (2024). ‘You feel a need to inspire and be active on these sites otherwise… people won’t remember your name’: Elite female athletes and the need to maintain ‘appropriate distance’in navigating online gendered space. New Media & Society, 26(2), 961–977.
   Google Scholar
• Pope, S. (2013). “The Love of My Life”: The meaning and importance of sport for female fans. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 37(2), 176–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723512455919
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pope, S. (2015). ‘It’s Just Such a Class Thing’: Rivalry and class distinction between female fans of men’s football and rugby union. Sociological Research Online, 20(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3589
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pope, S., & Williams, J. (2011). Beyond irrationality and the ultras: some notes on female English rugby union fans and the ‘feminised’ sports crowd. Leisure Studies, 30(3), 293–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2011.566626
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pope, S., Williams, J., & Cleland, J. (2022). Men’s football fandom and the performance of progressive and misogynistic masculinities in a ‘New Age’ of UK women’s sport. Sociology, 56(4), 730–748. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385211063359
   Google Scholar
• Premiership Rugby. (2022, June 23). Premiership rugby breaks TV audience records at the end of an unforgettable season. https://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/premiership-rugby-breaks-tv-audience-records-at-the-end-of-an-unforgettable-season
   Google Scholar
• Puwar, N. (2005). Space invaders: Race, gender and bodies out of place. Berg.
   Google Scholar
• Theberge, N. (1994). Toward a feminist alternative to sport as a male preserve. In S. Birrell & C., L. Cole, Women, sport and culture (pp. 181–192). Human Kinetics.
   Google Scholar
• Tuchman, G., Daniels, A. K., & Benet, J. (1978). The symbolic annihilation of women by the mass media. In Hearth and home: Images of women in the mass media (pp. 3–38). Oxford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Wheatley, E. E. (1994). Subcultural subversions: Comparing discourses on sexuality in men’s and women’s rugby songs. In S. Birrell & C., L. Cole, Women, sport and culture (pp. 193–211). Human Kinetics.
   Google Scholar
• Williams, J., Pope, S., & Cleland, J. (2022). ‘Genuinely in love with the game’ football fan experiences and perceptions of women’s football in England. Sport in Society, 26(2), 285–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2021.2021509
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Women in Sport. (2018). Where are all the women. Women in Sport. https://womeninsport.org/research-and-advice/our-publications/where-are-all-the-women/
   Google Scholar
• World Rugby. (2022, December 14). 2022: A record-breaking year for women’s rugby. https://www.world.rugby/news/778303/2022-a-record-breaking-year-for-womens-rugby
   Google Scholar
• Wrack, S. (2021, March 22). ‘A huge step forward’: WSL announces record-breaking deal with BBC and Sky. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/22/a-huge-step-forward-wsl-announces-record-breaking-deal-with-bbc-and-sky
   Google Scholar
• Wright, J., & Clarke, G. (1999). Sport, the media and the construction of compulsory heterosexuality: A Case Study of Women’s Rugby Union. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 34(3), 227–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/101269099034003001
   Google Scholar
• YouGov. (2022, August 1). Half of Britons likely to watch women’s football following Lionesses triumph. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/sport/articles-reports/2022/08/01/half-britons-likely-watch-womens-football-followin
   Google Scholar