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Men Like Us, Boys Like Them

Violence, Masculinity, and Collective Identity in Football Hooliganism

La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia, r.spaaij{at}latrobe.edu.au, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Football (or soccer) hooliganism is a complex, heterogeneous, and dynamic phenomenon that should be studied in its different social and historical contexts. Despite the vital importance of cultural, social, and historical specificity for fully grasping the nature and dynamics of spectator violence at football matches, some striking cross-national and cross-local similarities can be identified. Six fundamental features seem universal to the construction of "hooligan" identities: excitement and pleasurable emotional arousal, hard masculinity, territorial identifications, individual and collective management of reputation, a sense of solidarity and belonging, and representations of sovereignty and autonomy. The search for such commonalities allows researchers to develop an approach that transcends the isolated view of single manifestations of football hooliganism and identifies the features and mechanisms that are central to expressions of football-related violence.

Key Words: violence • football • comparative research • identity politics

Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Vol. 32, No. 4, 369-392 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0193723508324082


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