Making fútbol straight again: Homophobia, misogyny and the politics of Alexis Sánchez’s sexuality

Radical Americas Pub Date : 2018-10-17 DOI:10.14324/111.444.RA.2018.V3.1.003

Brenda Elsey

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Abstract

This essay examines the media frenzy around the ‘love-life’ of Chilean football star Alexís Sánchez, particularly the 2017 announcement of his romantic involvement with actress Mayte Rodríguez. It discusses the media coverage as a poignant example of misogyny and homophobia in Chilean football culture, as well as one of the forces that perpetuates that culture. During the years of the 2018 World Cup qualifying process, Chile accrued the most severe fines of any country for homophobic behaviour at football matches. This fact has attracted some, but not much, attention. There are few spaces of such extreme gender segregation as football. Once football’s capacity to develop proper masculinity and heterosexuality was widely accepted, football directors, journalists and fans pushed women outside of the sport. The relationship between homophobia and sexism has a long history in the construction of football fandom, play and organization. Media played a crucial role in reinforcing the heteronormative and misogynist aspects of the sport. This essay discusses how these long-standing prejudices have hurt women journalists, fans and athletes. Please note that this essay was previously published in Spanish in De Cabeza.

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让fútbol再次变直:同性恋恐惧症，厌女症和亚历克西斯Sánchez性取向的政治

这篇文章探讨了媒体对智利足球明星Alexís Sánchez的“爱情生活”的狂热，尤其是他在2017年宣布与女演员Mayte Rodríguez的恋情。它将媒体报道视为智利足球文化中厌女症和恐同症的一个令人痛心的例子，也是使这种文化永存的力量之一。在2018年世界杯预选赛期间，智利因在足球比赛中出现恐同行为而被处以最严厉的罚款。这一事实引起了一些关注，但不是很多。很少有像足球这样极端性别隔离的领域。一旦足球能够培养适当的男子气概和异性恋被广泛接受，足球主管、记者和球迷就把女性排挤出这项运动。同性恋恐惧症和性别歧视之间的关系在足球球迷、比赛和组织的建设中有着悠久的历史。媒体在强化这项运动的异性恋规范和厌恶女性方面发挥了至关重要的作用。本文讨论了这些长期存在的偏见是如何伤害女记者、女球迷和女运动员的。请注意，这篇文章之前曾以西班牙语发表在De Cabeza。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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Radical Americas

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