Sporting events such as football or basketball matches can enhance social and national cohesion through the fostering of feelings of togetherness and belongingness. On the other hand, audiences have been shown to reproduce exclusionary stereotypes about gender or ethnicity when talking about their favourite athletes or commenting on a game. An important space for the reproduction of such ideas are social media, which provide a platform for its users, especially young teenagers, to share their own content but also to consume and interact with other’s content.
Against this backdrop it becomes interesting to explore the role that sporting idols play in the construction of belongingness among young teenagers and at the same time to examine how, in their descriptions of their sporting idols, stereotypes about gender and ethnicity are used. To explore this, Carmen Longas has set up a comparative research project that aims at exploring the links between sporting idols, dominant discourses about gender and ethnicity and belongingness among a group of young teenagers in Vic (Spain) and Rotterdam. The final aim of the research project is to use the gathered data to develop a critical media literacy skills workshop which will be offered to schools in both countries.
The Catalan government and the Institut Català de la Pau (ICIP) have awarded the Erasmus University and the University of Vic (Spain) with a € 10.000 grant to explore this research idea. Jacco van Sterkenburg and Carmen Longas will lead the research in the Netherlands and Xavier Ginesta will lead the research project in Spain.
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