Dr. Jacco van Sterkenburg's research project "Audiences of televised football: meanings given to race, ethnicity and gender" has received the EUR Fellowship Grant.
Dr. Jacco van Sterkenburg works at the Media & Communication department. The research project is in collaboration with partners of the football and media world such as FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe), UEFA, Women Win, FOX Sports and (football) media professionals.
Short summary of the project
Televised men's football is an important source for national and international entertainment and one of the most visibly mixed racial/ethnic cultural practices in Dutch society. Although some studies have highlighted the potential of televised football to strengthen social cohesion and serve integrative purposes, other studies have also shown that televised football commentary incorporates stereotypes that socially disadvantage ethnic minorities and women and privilege ethnic majority men. In addition, women's football receives increasing TV coverage, especially the national women's team. Very little is known, however, about how male and female viewers of various racial/ethnic origins receive and use representations about race/ethnicity and gender presented in televised football.
Van Sterkenburg's EUR Fellowship study will focus on the reception and use of discourses surrounding race/ethnicity and gender in men"s and women"s televised football by male and female viewers from various ethnicities. This is particularly valuable in relation to young viewers since televised football may provide them with role models and a shared thematic resource through which they negotiate meanings about race/ethnicity and gender and reflect on their own and others" identities. The study is innovative in its focus on audiences of one of the most popular TV-genres, its emphasis on both race/ethnicity and gender and their intersections, and its use of multiple methodologies. The project is theoretically informed by cultural studies, race/ethnicity and gender studies, and media studies, and supported by key stakeholders in the field.