Book Description

"It was a pleasure to read this comprehensive and insightful work by leading scholars on gender and football about the 2019 Women's World Cup. With discussions from post-colonial lenses of Women of Color, fan appreciation and adoration, to queer relationships and even the legendary statuesque pose by World Champion Megan Rapinoe, this book interrogates the many layers of complexity in an intelligent and generous manner. From an in-depth analysis of media representation, lingering sexism, and complex discussions about racial inequities in the sport, this is a necessary read for journalists, pundits, academics, and fans interested in critical discussions that are embedded into women's football." -- Shireen Ahmed, Writer and award-winning sports activist focusing on Muslim women in sports. This book examines the most prolific international women's football tournament-the FIFA Women's World Cup-through media, fandom and how mediated women's soccer can improve on a global scale. Women's soccer has exploded in terms of media exposure, television audiences and live spectatorship. This book explores those macro-level issues, while also digging into micro-level topics such as Megan Rapinoe's celebrations and political activism, VAR reviews, LGBTQ imagery, and cultural obstacles for women's football in Central-Eastern Europe and Nigeria. Using an interdisciplinary approach, scholars look at issues through the lenses of feminist theory, cultural studies, rhetorical criticism, political economy, performative sport fandom, autoethnography, and more. Thus, the book is important reading for students, researchers and media practitioners with interests in women's soccer, gender in sports media, coverage of women's sport, and sport fandom. Molly Yanity is Associate Professor of Journalism at Quinnipiac University, USA. Danielle Sarver Coombs is Professor in the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University, USA.