A woman's place recurring: structuration, football fandom and sub-cultural subservience

Whilst subject to much conjecture, female football fans are rarely heard in empirical investigations of fandom practice. This omission, I argue, is a significant one, not only for the purpose of gender equality but also for the accurate theorization of football fandom cultures and the sub-cultural subservience of female fans within. In order to address this issue, this paper focuses on qualitative interviews with a sample of female fans to explore and explain the spatial and temporal extension of gender subordination prevalent within football fandom cultures. To do so, it draws on Structuration theory as presented by Anthony Giddens and concentrates attention on routine interactions and encounters as key factors that shape the constitution of football fandom cultures and the sub-cultural struggles encountered by females.