A mídia esportiva e o futebol de mulheres no Brasil: o que noticiam sobre elas?

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to understand how news about women soccer players are transmitted in cyberspace, specifically, on web journalism (Website: Globoesporte.com). It also aims to describe how readership comprises the media discourse, interacting with one another and with reports about women in football. From a theoretical-methodological post-structuralist approach, we assumed that media speeches are built in such a way to fulfill gendered interests when news about men and women in football are broadcasted. In order to meet those purposes, we used virtual ethnography. The data collection period was between April/2015 and June/2015, in that some important national and international women championships took place, such as the tournament from the State of São Paulo, Pan American Games and FIFA's World Cup. Within the reports published on the website Globoesporte.com about women in soccer, we had selected thirty-four for the paper and the comments totaled six hundred and twelve. The empirical material was then analyzed as of three topics, namely: "Femininities in game: images and speeches (of media) on women's football"; "Gender impediments: when will be their turn?" and "Development of female football: schedule for women". Those themes have been crossed by interpellation. In general, we could verify that media discourse and most of the analyzed comments are performative, that is, they are socially built and constituted through reaffirmed acts in culture. This reoccurrence sets sound standards about body, sexuality, femininity and gender identity for the women soccer players appearing in the reports, and yet, values the athletes’ physical beauty when those fit into given body traits. That repetition also reinforces the gender hierarchy, through the value of awards won by male coaches, and opinions of “experts” that keep the status quo in which women occupy lower places than men, both as regards women soccer game’s skills as occupation of sports management. Despite highlighting on its speech the schedules and projects short term that aim to develop soccer for women in Brazil, we could realize the Globoesporte.com itself reflects the news outlined by prejudgments and prejudice and often not doing justice to the athletes' accomplishments, making invisible and biased information about soccer played by women. Also, we noticed, at time, Globoesporte.com “misses the mark”, not corresponding to the readers’ expectations, who claim for more information on female soccer. We concluded that the deconstruction near women in soccer should be made through parallel medias, as well as the social networks, which are in the present an important tool to disseminate information and through female and male users have more freedom of communication and expression. Furthermore, female and male researchers should mobilize themselves for beyond the academic environment, seeking to debate their researches with society, raising awareness in more people around them.