Threatened MasculinitiesMarginalise Women in Israeli Football

Abstract

In “Threatened Masculinities Marginalise Women in Israeli Football”, Tamir Sorek’s research deals with the intersection of masculinity (gender), ethnicity (Ashkenazi-Mizrachi), and nationalism (Jews-Arabs) in Israeli football. He argues that the game of football and football fandom are intrinsically a major battlefield among men of three Israeli collectives-Jews of European background (Ashkenazi), Jews who came to Israel from Muslim countries (Mizrachi), and Arab/Palestinians-each having its own history and form of injured masculinity. The central thesis is that the triangular struggle among men’s threatened masculinities is tightly connected to the exclusion of women in Israeli football and other sports. Dwelling on the case of football as a hegemonic sports culture in Israel, the research reveals how members of the three collectives have struggled over their masculine identity and attempted to use football to rehabilitate their threatened masculinity. The chapter gives us a rare glimpse into manhood, masculinity, and football among Arab Israeli men, and exposes the ethnically nationalized and stratified structure of Israeli society and sports while explaining in this context how it impedes the inclusion of women.