Futebol, masculinidade e emoção: memórias apaixonadas de torcedores

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the relation between masculinity and emotion in the context of football, based on the memories of supporters, collected through qualitative interviews. By these means, the opposition between masculinity and emotion in Western culture is questioned. In this cultural system, emotions are conceived as feminine attributes, thus being excluded from the cultural constitution of hegemonic masculinity. The cultural opposition between reason and emotion leads to gender differences: women are conceived as naturally emotional and uncontrolled, while men are defined as essentially rational and moderate. In football, however, we find a context in which these values are partially subverted: instead of emotional restraint, it is the uncontrolled, excessive and passionate behavior that is pursued by the supporters. In football, masculinity and emotion combine in a coherent way. The emotions experienced in the context of football contribute to the construction of masculine identities and subjectivities.