Lie Back and Think of England

Abstract

This article looks at the representation of women in football-related stories during the course of the 1996 European Championships. Through an analysis of a tabloid newspaper’s football coverage, it traces the England team’s progress to the semifinals of the competition and examines the portrayal of women in these reports. The findings suggest that despite the great strides forward being made by women in a number of sports including football, reporting in the popular press continues to promote sport as a predominantly male activity. The research also indicates that women remain subordinate and sexually objectified in the majority of sports coverage.