“You Talk a Good Game”

Abstract

This article represents one aspect of an inquiry into the gendered character of the address of British televised sports. To answer the research question, “Why are televised sports disproportionately popular with a male, and not female, television audience?” football is chosen for analysis as one sport whose appeal has traditionally been limited to men. Using semiotics to enable the elicitation of a gendered address to a television audience, a match between England and Holland broadcast by ITV as part of Euro '96 was analyzed. The results prompt a consideration of how Easthope's delineation of three aspects of masculine style might inform an investigation into football's masculine address. Finally, the work of Gilligan on the gendering of psychological development theories is discussed to further identify masculine style in televised football.