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- Convenors:
-
Mariann Vaczi
(University of Nevada, Reno)
Xavier Ginesta (University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia)
Jim. O'Brien (University of Vic, Catalonia)
Send message to Convenors
- Formats:
- Panel
- Mode:
- Face-to-face
- Sessions:
- Thursday 25 July, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Madrid
Short Abstract:
This panel investigates the role of sport for both reflecting and constructing, doing and undoing political debates in Catalonia, Spain, and beyond. It explores the mutual nourishment of sporting desires and political desires through symbols, discourses, embodiments, rituals, or representations.
Long Abstract:
As host to the 1992 Olympic Games and home to a globally renown football culture, Barcelona is one of the sport capitals of the world. It is also the capital of Catalonia, where questions of national identity, sovereignty, regional autonomy, secession, and state-region relations have been intensively debated in the realm of culture and sport. This panel welcomes proposals that investigate the role of sport for both reflecting and constructing, doing and undoing political debates in Catalonia, Spain, and beyond. The panel aims to explore the mutual nourishment of and transformations between sporting desires and political desires manifested through symbols, discourses, embodiments, rituals, or representations. It will bring together the multi-disciplinary perspectives of sport studies with the broader concerns of anthropology. Among those broader concerns, one that has preoccupied some of the most seminal thinkers is the question of how the political emerges—in this case, through sport. How does sport become a contested political terrain of difference, hegemony, or antagonism? How does the moving body become politicized, and ideology become embodied? How do social and political movements and protests draw social base, image and vocabulary from sporting cultures and fandoms? For anthropologists, this panel may demonstrate the centrality of sport as a site from which to observe the world; for sport studies scholars, it may demonstrate the centrality of ethnography and anthropological theory to those observations.
sport, politics, identity, territorial debates, social movements
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 25 July, 2024, -Clara Bobillo González (University of A Coruña)
Paper short abstract:
Considering the contracultural aspect of parkour and its strong relation with the urban context, this paper reflects on how parkour practitioners from Vigo -Galicia- politicise and negotiate the uses of the urban public space and on their frictions with the institutionalisation process of the sport.
Paper long abstract:
This paper will explore the perception of traceurs -parkour practitioners- in the city of Vigo -Galicia- about the institutionalisation of their sport from a gender perspective. Specifically, about the recent formation of a parkour school and a specific park in the city. Although a priori it may seem that these measures would be positive for all traceurs, the issue is more complex. Parkour is a contemporary sport that is often practised informally -outside clubs or schools, without formal regulation- in urban public space. Some traceurs consider that "taking", "improvising", "reinventing" the city and its uses is part of the sport's identity and so they do not support the construction of specific parks or schools. For this sector, institutionalisation implies a domestication, displacement and privatisation of the sport. This is related to a countercultural character and even to the understanding of this sport as a practice of resistance. Nevertheless, we are in a context in which sport is masculinized, the public space continues to be exclusive and discriminatory, and women tend to be socialised in "passivity" when it comes to political intervention. From this perspective, it is possible that women traceurs do support the institutionalisation of parkour, as specific parks or schools offer them security. From an ethnographic and gender perspective, this paper will approach the micropolitics of traceurs, reflecting on how they politicise their sporting practice, on their role as negotiators of the uses of urban public space and, ultimately, on the resulting frictions between them and the formal institutions.
Nahuel Ivan Faedo (Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya) Raúl Martínez-Corcuera (Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya)
Paper short abstract:
The aim of this research is to identify women journalists' perceptions of their roles in Spanish sports newsrooms. This research uses a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with ten female sports journalists from different Spanish media.
Paper long abstract:
-The authors would like to clarify that, in case the abstract is accepted, it is possible that one or both may have to participate online.
-The abstract without the reference list has less than 250 words, as requested in the “call for papers”.
Abstract
Football and sports journalism as spaces of male hegemony (North, 2012) have always limited the incorporation of women (Bernstein & Kian, 2013). Female sports journalists are a rarity worldwide (Boczek et al., 2023; Organista & Mazur, 2020). Antunovic (2019) and Bentley-York (2018) review sexist structures since the 1970s, finding verbal harassment in newsrooms and an audience that questions the credibility of women journalists. Brown (2020) recovers experiences that criticise hyper-sexualisation and harassment in social networks.
In Spain, as in other parts of the world, the working conditions in which women have been incorporated into the journalistic profession advise caution when referring to feminisation processes (Soriano et al., 2005). The aim of this research is to identify women journalists' perceptions of their roles in Spanish sports newsrooms. We look for meanings instead of numbers (Bryman, 2017) and we are interested in how and why they perceive their experiences and how they understand and interpret the world (Willig, 2017). This research uses a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews, as did studies such as Everbach (2018) or Spiliopoulos et al. (2020). The interviewees were ten female sports journalists from different Spanish media. The results confirm a) that women suffer harassment from peers, sources, and audiences, b) the existence of a "glass ceiling" that limits their access to leadership positions.
References
Antunovic, D. (2019). “We wouldn’t say it to their faces”: online harassment, women sports journalists, and feminism. Feminist Media Studies, 19(3), 428–442.
Bentley-York, J. (2018). Women in Sports Journalism: Is there still a stigma? https://social.shorthand.com/JBentley_York/ny6u50UW7cx/women-in-sports-journalism-is-there-still-a-stigma
Bernstein, A., & Kian. E. M. (2013). Gender and sexualities in sport media. In P. Pedersen (Ed.), Routledge handbook of sport communication (pp. 319–327). Routledge.
Boczek, K., Dogruel, L., & Schallhorn, C. (2023). Gender byline bias in sports reporting: Examining the visibility and audience perception of male and female journalists in sports coverage. Journalism, 24(7), 1462-1481. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849211063312
Brown, D. (2020, July 30). Meet the Badass Black Women Combating Gender Inequality and Hypersexualization in Sports Journalism. Coveteur. https://coveteur.com/2020/07/30/black-women-sports-journalism/
Bryman, A. (2017). Quantitative and qualitative research: further reflections on their integration. In J. Brannen (Ed.), Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research (pp. 57-78). Routledge.
Everbach, T. (2018). “I realized it was about them… not me”: Women sports journalists and harassment. In J. R. Vickery, & T. Everbach (Eds.), Mediating misogyny: Gender, technology, and harassment (pp. 131-149). Palgrave Macmillan.
North, L. (2012). The gendered world of sports reporting in the Australian print media. JOMEC journal, (2). http://doi.org/10.18573/j.2012.10232
Organista, N., & Mazur, Z. (2020). “You either stop reacting or you don’t survive. There’s no other way”: the work experiences of Polish women sports journalists. Feminist Media Studies, 20(8), 1110-1127. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2019.1690020
Soriano, J., Cantón, M. J., & Díez, M. (2005). La pseudofeminización de la profesión periodística en España. ZER: Revista De Estudios De Comunicación = Komunikazio Ikasketen Aldizkaria, 10(19).
Spiliopoulos, P., Mastrogiannakis, D., Kokkina, L., & Tsigilis, N. (2020). Working in a male dominated universe: Stereotypical attitudes towards Greek female sports journalists. PANR Journal, 685-700. https://www.panr.com.cy/?p=7398
Willig, C. (2017). Interpretation in qualitative research. In C. Willig, & W. Stainton (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 274-288). SAGE.
Fernando Gutiérrez-Chico (Universidad de Salamanca) Jiří Zákravský (University of West Bohemia) Carlos Pulleiro Méndez (Tongji University)
Paper short abstract:
This study aims to unravel the role of athletes as activists. It analyzes the social media activity of the Iberoamerican participants in the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup. The findings show that neutrality dominated. The massive silence about Qatar contributed to a normalisation of the event.
Paper long abstract:
Our study investigates the role of footballers and coaches through social media in shaping international perceptions of Qatar during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This tournament was a key element of Qatar’s sports diplomacy that faced criticism because of corruption allegations, human rights issues, labour conditions, and treatment of the LGBTIQA+ community. This study is based on a content analysis of the Twitter and Instagram accounts of the footballers and coaches of the 8 Ibero-American national teams that took part in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It aims to unravel the role of athletes as sports diplomats and activists. Accordingly, this article studies the posting frequency, how they address Qatar's image, and their engagement with the aforementioned criticism of the host country. The findings show that from a total of 275 posts that mentioned Qatar, neutral messages are dominant with 268 posts while there were only 7 positive posts. In conclusion, the Ibero-American national teams have contributed to a normalisation of the event through their massive silence about the host country, which makes us suggest that the footballer has a more conservative role in political terms.
Xavier Ginesta (University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia) Jim. O'Brien (University of Vic, Catalonia)
Paper short abstract:
This element of the panel focuses on the role of FC Barcelona as a cultural and social institution, drawing significantly on some of the themes explored in our upcoming edited study, FC Barcelona: History, Politics and Identity, to be published by Routledge in 2024.
Paper long abstract:
This element of the panel focuses on the role of FC Barcelona as a cultural and social institution, drawing significantly on some of the themes explored in our upcoming edited study, FC Barcelona: History, Politics and Identity, to be published by Routledge in 2024.
We will concentrate on three key themes, which we believe to be commensurate with the wider themes and issues disseminated in the EASA conference. Firstly, we examine the historic traditions of FC Barcelona as an expression of the core political and cultural values in a stateless Catalan society. These values have existed, in various manifestations, since the foundation of the club in 1899, and have been an articulation of civil society of the city of Barcelona and the region of Catalonia since then.
Secondly, we consider the perspectives of the club during the Franco dictatorship (1939- 1975) and in the subsequent transition to democracy in the late 1970s. How did FC Barcelona function as a representation of suppressed national sentiment during the period, and how did it feature in the transition to the Spain of the regions in the 1970s and 1980s? Finally, we evaluate the club as part of a stable contemporary democracy: Where does the club sit in the development of the independence and separatist debate? How does sport, and football act as a catalyst for the promotion of wider societal objectives?
The presentation concludes by asking key questions pertaining to the relationship between FC Barcelona and Catalan identity. Is it safe containment allied to slick marketing, or a reference point for aspirational aims in a stateless nation?
Montserrat Clua Fainé (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) Meline Margaryan (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
Paper short abstract:
The paper explores the relationship between football and the last years' demands for independence in Catalonia through the political positions of two key football clubs of the region: F.C. Barcelona, related to secessionist positions, and R.C.D. Español associated with Spanish unionist tendencies.
Paper long abstract:
This paper presents ongoing ethnographic research on the relationship between football and the self-determination process in Catalonia in the last decade. Football is the most important sport in Spain and is a contested political terrain at very different levels. However, its paramount importance lies in being a crucial platform for the expression and contention of national identities. Historically, this has been present in the conflict between Catalan national identities and the Spanish nation-state, which is symbolically represented in the confrontation between the two most powerful football clubs: Real Madrid and Futbol Club Barcelona. Since their origins in the XX century, these clubs represented the dispute between the two cities' political and economic power and the symbolic representation of the political and national struggles from hegemonic Spanish and peripheral Catalan nationalisms. But during the political process of independence demands in Catalonia since 2012 until the celebration of a secessionist non-legal referendum on October 1st, 2017-, the polarization between secessionist and non-secessionist positions inside Catalonia will be reflected in the difference of position of the two key football clubs of the region: F.C. Barcelona, related at secessionist positions, and Real Club Deportivo Español, historically associated with Spanish unionist tendencies.
The research reflects that there is indeed a connection between being an F.C. Barcelona fan and supporting the self-determination movement and being an R.C.D. Espanyol fan and not supporting the movement, but it also shows that some supporters do not share this simplistic political classification.
Christopher Hastas
Paper short abstract:
This paper will explore para-athleticism and how it contributes to the identity of powerchair footballers. The 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup will be used as a case study to explore player narratives and narratives from the public, while an autoethnography will also be used for analysis.
Paper long abstract:
People with disabilities (PwD) are a marginalised group who experience oppressive dynamics such as social exclusion, and infantilisation, which impacts on quality of life. It is important to understand how to address oppressive social dynamics for greater empowerment of PwD. Literature states that sport provides an avenue to develop confidence, and greater life satisfaction (Groff, Lundberg & Zabriskie 2009; Hutzler & Sherrill 1999). Adaptive and para-sport have shown to help PwD attain positive social outcomes and increase physical and mental health (Hancock, Adler & Côté 2013). Given this, there is a growing interest in researching the relationship between sport participation and para-athletic identity for people with physical disabilities (PwPD) (such as Powis 2020), nevertheless, this theme remains largely under-researched. This paper will research the relationship between powerchair football participation and identity creation for PwD. For the purposes of this project, the 2023 Federation Internationale de Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA) Powerchair Football World Cup took place in Sydney, Australia from the 15th to the 20th of October and will be considered for its potential to provide great insights into para-athleticism and identity. Against the theoretical backdrop of structuration theory complemented by narrative theory, this project will engage narrative methodology to explore the researcher’s insider personal narrative, powerchair football players’ narratives, and the public narrative with specific focus on the said World Cup. Multi-method approach that includes autoethnography, semi-structured interviews, and a discourse analysis will be used to explore those narratives.
Dario Nardini (University of Siena)
Paper short abstract:
Calcio Storico Fiorentino is the violent re-enactment of a Renaissance game. Since its “reinvention” in 1930 by the local Fascist leaders, it has represented a contested field for the expression and definition of masculinity and ever-changing (sometimes clashing) “imagined” Florentine identities
Paper long abstract:
Calcio Storico Fiorentino (CSF) is the re-enactment of a local Renaissance game, “calcio”, and particularly of the “siege match” of 1530, played by the soldiers of the Republic of Florence to both encourage themselves and to mock the besieging troops of Charles V, who wanted to take control of the city. The current celebrations include a parade in Renaissance costumes and a calcio tournament, which consists of a radically violent ball game. Since its “reinvention” in 1930 with the support of the Fascist leaders, CSF has been a contested field for the expression and definition of masculinity and “imagined” Florentine identities, and a useful piece of heritage for different political purposes. In the 1930’s, it served as a tool for consolidating political consensus and reinforcing fascist rhetoric about brave and masculine Italian “roots”. After WWII, CSF was immediately reintroduced by the communist leaders to promote tourism and create sociality in a period of reconstruction. The narrative of the siege match was thus reversed, becoming a symbol of Florentines’ self-determination and resistance to authoritarian power (the ideal of the “free Republic”). In recent years, the neoliberal commodification of Florence’s cultural heritage has changed the social conformation of the city, forcing residents to move to peripheral areas. Consequently, CSF has become a symbolic way for the participants to resist the tourist “invasion” of the most identitarian part of their city, the heritagised historical center where CSF takes place. By participating in the festival, the participants claim their part in Florence’s celebrated history.
Mariann Vaczi (University of Nevada, Reno)
Paper short abstract:
The Catalan traditional sport of human tower building (castells) has been booming since the Transition from the Franco dictatorship to democracy, and has become a major symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid contemporary debates around national autonomy and secession from Spain.
Paper long abstract:
The building of human towers (castells) is a centuries-old traditional sport where hundreds of men, women, and children gather in Catalan squares to create breathtaking edifices through a feat of collective athleticism. The result is a great spectacle of effort and overcoming, tension and release. This traditional sport has been booming since the Transition from the Franco dictatorship to democracy, and has become a major symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid debates around national autonomy and secession from Spain. While the main function of building castells is to grow community through a low-cost, intergenerational, and inclusive leisure activity, this traditional sport also provides a social base, image, and vocabulary for the independence movement. As human tower building is often equated with nation and heritage building (fer castells es fer país), and politicians call for the construction of common foundations toward independence (fer pinya), the bottom-up constructions of castells emerge as iconic processes that independentist politics wishes to traverse. But the politicization of culture is not without its risks and dilemmas. By mobilizing body-place-value linkages, this thriving traditional sport captures the subtle processes by which the body becomes politicized, and ideology becomes embodied, with all the desires and precarities of collective constructions. The presence of castells in contemporary Catalan politics shows how and why formerly marginal social segments and body practices may become symbolically central in certain political contexts.
Carlos Pulleiro Méndez (Tongji University)
Paper short abstract:
This paper analyzes through critical discourse analysis how Chinese media portrayed Eileen Gu’s Chinese identity during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, where Eileen Gu, an American-born snowboarder, won 3 medals representing China.
Paper long abstract:
Eileen Gu received a widespread public attention as an American-born snowboarder that won 3 medals in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics representing China. Building on the conceptual and historical frameworks of sports and nation-building, and taking Eileen Gu as a case-study, this paper analyzes through critical discourse analysis how Chinese mainstream media portrayed Eileen Gu’s image and her Chinese identity. The results show that during the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Chinese media constructed Eileen Gu’s Chinese identity through a pluralistic approach: her success is connected with national pride, Chinese food, family relations and kinship, friendship, excellence in study and Chinese totems. The conclusion of the study shows that being sport an important vehicle for China’s nation-building, this country is expanding the boundaries of Chinese/China through sports storytelling and the naturalization of athletes, linking sporting success to the ‘rejuvenation of China’.