2025/08/04 by Chiraz Belfekih, Monia Lachheb, Radosław Kossakowski · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Physical Education and Sports Studies #Sport and Mega-Event Impacts #Sports, Gender, and Society
paper · doi:10.1080/14660970.2025.2538790
openalex publication_date 2025/08/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
The aim of the article is to explore the resourcefulness of female fans from Tunisia. It delves into how they ingeniously perform their gender in the context of fandom through clothing. Drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews, the article uncovers the ingenious strategies that Tunisian female fans employ to negotiate their status as full participants in fandom culture. It is based on situations created by the opportunity to support one’s team and relates them to Tunisian social, cultural, and football contexts. In a context where socially valued femininity is perceived as a factor that weakens the image of fans, women demonstrate their ingenuity by distancing themselves from behaviour that might classify them as ‘typically feminine’ and thus distancing them from the image of true fans. Women develop strategies that lead them to obliterate feminine characteristics and reject the typically feminine appearance and body register without falling into a subversive position.