2009
Faculdade de Educação, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Dissertação
Mestrado em Educação
128
This thesis describes how masculinities are experienced inside football fields. I have provided a cultural analysis based on Cultural Studies and Post-Structuralist Gender Studies in order to map masculine representations inside this specific context. In order to construct the empirical material, I have selected four newspapers from Porto Alegre. From these resources I have gathered narratives from those who are involved in the spectacle of football. This has allowed me to visualize some of the theoretical characteristics materialized in the world of football. I have also observed eight games of the 2008 Campeonato Gaúcho: four football games of Sport Club Internacional and four football games of Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto-Alegrense, inside Beira-Rio and Olímpico football fields. From these observations, I have compiled field notes. I have shown how the actions of male fans, i.e., their songs, their clothing, and signs, help to construct their masculinities. Inside football fields subjects can be anonymous. Their multiple identities are subordinated to the football fan identity. Therefore, they can put themselves in a collective action. The football fields provide a pedagogy. It is necessary to learn when to scream and when to be silent, what to scream and what not to scream, and what to feel and how to feel… The pedagogic ‘science’ of curriculum is a useful tool in examining practices inside football fields. Curriculum, in this sense, is not meant to define a specific path of study from where subjects go from one condition to a place where they could be graduated as man or fan, whatever cultural context. The curriculum taught at the football field is more a series of prescription; something subjects are invited to practice at all times. Through this study, I have presented different narratives about football and the masculinities that aid in the construction of the football fan, particularly those who go to football fields. To support the idea of a masculinity curriculum of the football fan, I have organized the contents of this curriculum among four topics: 1) Brave and fight; 2) Violence and socialization; 3) A macho´s love; 4) Subaltern masculinities. For the first topic, I documented the players and fans´ need to demonstrate their will to do something more, by becoming members of football clubs. In the second topic, I point out how homophobia and physical confrontations can be understood as a way of sociability. The emotion is highlighted among third topic. In this environment, where virile masculinities are positively valued, the football fan is free to demonstrate affection and love. He is also free to demonstrate sadness and frustration through crying. For the last topic, I highlight the adversary´s masculinity construction, and all possible negative points. From this, I am able to highlight the adversary´s inadequate masculinity, which confirms the condition of normality of our masculinity.
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