Autor/es
Descripción
ver mas
Colaborador
Moreira, María Verónica Elizabeth
Dagatti, Mariano Jesús
Spatial Coverage
Idioma
spa
Extent
142 p.
Derechos
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Formato
application/pdf
Identificador
Cobertura
ARG
Abstract
It is well known that women’s football in Argentina has historically been made invisible. After years of amateurism, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) professionalized women’s football in 2019, and this meant new conditions for players in terms of gender equality, social recognition and new opportunities of work. In this context, the research investigated how 'autobiographical identities' of players were constructed in the first two years of professionalization (2019-2021).
The aims of this thesis were to identify the narratological patterns in the players´ autobiographies, and to study their impact on the historical narrative of women’s football in Argentina. It also analyzed meanings associated with the notions of work and body in their narratives and traces how these evolved throughout the professionalization process. Finally,
the research reconstructed the interdiscursive links between the players’ narratives and hegemonic discourses and memories about women and sexual diversity.
This investigation drew from two traditions which are related with language studies: discourse analysis, regarded as an interdisciplinary practice (Arnoux, 2006), and narratology, which is understood as the semiotic study of stories and their networks of meanings (Genette, 1972; Greimas, 1983). The methodology of this research was qualitative. In-depth interviews were realized to players who experienced professionalization while they were playing in the Women’s First Division Football Tournament between 2019 and 2021. Their responses were studied through two viewpoints, discourse analysis and narratology.
It is my belief that the players’ voices were affected by external discourses, but were not entirely determined by them. It is our hypothesis that the players’ narratives are far from being hegemonic, because their storytelling was influenced by institutional logics, personal trajectories, social contexts, and academic studies.
Key findings demonstrate that past tense is the most common tense in the player’s narratives about professionalization, which could mean that it is a finished process, but it still has an impact on their ongoing experiences. Their own different beginnings in football, but all of them give a significant value to the sport in relation with their identities.
Through the use of the first-person singular, players positioned themselves in the center of their stories, identifying as professionals but for different reasons. While some highlighted the pride of signing contracts, others emphasized their positive personal characters. Other players recognized themselves as professional because they participated in a process that was perceived as unequal and exclusionary. These self-perceptions were reinforced by critical comparisons with a normative subject defined by gender and age, about which the players argue and propose new meanings of being a professional soccer player.
The coexistence of individualized and collective voices was observed throughout the narratives. Individual voices were used to describe behaviors that defined professionalism, while collective voices appeared when the players referred to future expectations and when they shared institutional demands. An actantial model was identified in the players' narrative structure, where families and friends were classified as allies, and organizations such AFA, managers, and coaches were positioned as adversaries.
At the same time, the diversity in how the players narrated themselves and the professionalization process was noted as a strength and as a weakness. While agency in the construction of their professional identities was identified as positive because it is an open phenomenon, the lack of a collective identity was interpreted as a potential disadvantage in their demands. It was suggested that this fragmentation could be useful for institutions to maintain male authority and control, as it was evidenced in the narratives about AFA, club managers and coaches.
Finally, some future research recommendations for a thesis could include comparative studies on the evolution of professionalization across the first decade and it could explore the different experiences in young girls and women because they are going to grow up with the opportunity of being football players. In addition, for future research, it could be interesting to
know the long-term impact of these first years of professionalization on the identities of women soccer players and on the discourses about sports and gender in Argentina.
The aims of this thesis were to identify the narratological patterns in the players´ autobiographies, and to study their impact on the historical narrative of women’s football in Argentina. It also analyzed meanings associated with the notions of work and body in their narratives and traces how these evolved throughout the professionalization process. Finally,
the research reconstructed the interdiscursive links between the players’ narratives and hegemonic discourses and memories about women and sexual diversity.
This investigation drew from two traditions which are related with language studies: discourse analysis, regarded as an interdisciplinary practice (Arnoux, 2006), and narratology, which is understood as the semiotic study of stories and their networks of meanings (Genette, 1972; Greimas, 1983). The methodology of this research was qualitative. In-depth interviews were realized to players who experienced professionalization while they were playing in the Women’s First Division Football Tournament between 2019 and 2021. Their responses were studied through two viewpoints, discourse analysis and narratology.
It is my belief that the players’ voices were affected by external discourses, but were not entirely determined by them. It is our hypothesis that the players’ narratives are far from being hegemonic, because their storytelling was influenced by institutional logics, personal trajectories, social contexts, and academic studies.
Key findings demonstrate that past tense is the most common tense in the player’s narratives about professionalization, which could mean that it is a finished process, but it still has an impact on their ongoing experiences. Their own different beginnings in football, but all of them give a significant value to the sport in relation with their identities.
Through the use of the first-person singular, players positioned themselves in the center of their stories, identifying as professionals but for different reasons. While some highlighted the pride of signing contracts, others emphasized their positive personal characters. Other players recognized themselves as professional because they participated in a process that was perceived as unequal and exclusionary. These self-perceptions were reinforced by critical comparisons with a normative subject defined by gender and age, about which the players argue and propose new meanings of being a professional soccer player.
The coexistence of individualized and collective voices was observed throughout the narratives. Individual voices were used to describe behaviors that defined professionalism, while collective voices appeared when the players referred to future expectations and when they shared institutional demands. An actantial model was identified in the players' narrative structure, where families and friends were classified as allies, and organizations such AFA, managers, and coaches were positioned as adversaries.
At the same time, the diversity in how the players narrated themselves and the professionalization process was noted as a strength and as a weakness. While agency in the construction of their professional identities was identified as positive because it is an open phenomenon, the lack of a collective identity was interpreted as a potential disadvantage in their demands. It was suggested that this fragmentation could be useful for institutions to maintain male authority and control, as it was evidenced in the narratives about AFA, club managers and coaches.
Finally, some future research recommendations for a thesis could include comparative studies on the evolution of professionalization across the first decade and it could explore the different experiences in young girls and women because they are going to grow up with the opportunity of being football players. In addition, for future research, it could be interesting to
know the long-term impact of these first years of professionalization on the identities of women soccer players and on the discourses about sports and gender in Argentina.
Título obtenido
Magister de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en Comunicación y Cultura
Institución otorgante
Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales