Women and the World Cup

Found this article via Dodgy at Best. While it makes some good points about women and soccer, I ( in my rosy glasses sort of way) hate that we even need to point out that HEY! women like soccer, too! Maybe it's a strange concept to me because the reaction here in America is more "you like soccer? why?" and never so much goes into my gender.


The women of the World Cup
Increasing female participation in football culture is good for the game and good for the world.

June 15, 2006 03:55 PM Printable version
Enthralling though it is, especially for we who derive pleasure from the free-spending habits of Wayne The Wondertoe's girlfriend Colleen, there are other tales of females at the World Cup than those concerning the wardrobe selections and socialising of the WAGS (Wives And Girlfriends of the England players). More, too, than images of lady Brazilians with whistles in their mouths and physiques somewhat more lissom than that of their team's troubled striker Ronaldo. What the World Cup so far confirms is that women's participation in many aspects of the game continues to grow and, to my mind, serves as a metaphor (yes, Altrui, I have more!) for the ways that football culture has improved and demonstrates its potential for spreading goodness (as well as evil and lunacy) round the globe. Here are a few examples.

One: Female fans of Iran in Germany.
After Iran's opening World Cup game against Mexico Five Live carried a piece about their female supporters, who had been out in the streets enjoying the pre-match atmosphere, many without their heads or faces covered other than with face paints, which, thanks to the similarity of the two teams' colours, made them hard to distinguish from their Mexican counterparts. I don't know how many of these women have travelled from Iran itself, how many may be living abroad, or anything else about them. But their visibility and seeming autonomy has to be perceived as a blow against Iranian sexual apartheid, especially in view of football's recent importance as a vehicle for female liberation in that land. For more on this look here and here and here.

Two: Gabby Logan.
Now well-established as an ITV studio anchor, the daughter of former Leeds and Wales roughie-toughie Terry Yorath continues to prove that women are capable of holding a place in any media football line-up on merit. You may snort that being long, blonde and glossy had something to do with her landing the job in the first place. You may be right. But being merely decorative would not have been enough. Were that the case Gabby would not command the respect shown to her by the gentleman pundits she presides over so professionally. The nearest I've seen to any of the lads she's shared studio space with flirting with her was Ally McCoist calling her a Diego Forlan look-a-like. Which may have indicated something else entirely.

Three: Football women of England.
These days there's a bit more to female involvement in footie than simply washing the kit after a game. Increasing numbers consume and play, administer and watch the game at various levels, confounding gender purists everywhere. Indeed, as spectators, they have always been there to some degree and they are well-represented in England colours in Germany. They are unlikely to be among the few idiots wearing stormtrooper helmets or chanting "seig heil".
Four: Delia Smith. Legendary chair of Norwich City and, of course, The Guardian's World Cup grub correspondent. Read her recipes for today and I guarantee you'll be joining me at 5.45 in throwing together an Omelette Savoyard or two, assuming I can scare up a few bacon lardons in the meantime. Knocks spots of that Gordon Ramsay, too.

Five: My friend Jaime.
She's 20-something years old and makes a living as a carpenter and as a steward at big sporting events. She's also an Arsenal fan who fulfilled a great ambition after their final match at Highbury by getting kissed by Thierry Henry. But Jaime is no giggly swooner. While stewarding a match two seasons ago some hooligan smacked her in the mouth. What did Jaime do? She smacked him back, of course. Not exactly in the job description but deserves a winner's medal anyway.

So there's five good reasons for welcoming women's presence in football. Any advance?