"Från det att jag var liten har det alltid varit boll." Om konstruktionen av femininitet bland elitsatsande fotbollstjejer

This article deals with the construction of femininity among female football players. The issue focuses on how girls, competing in a typically male sports, talk about and look upon themselves. The data has been derived from participant observations of a Swedish female football team, as well as from open-ended interviews with seven of the players, between 15 and 18 years old. The following aspects are discussed: Why the girls originally began to play football; their present motivation for continuing to play, their talk about the differences between women’s and men’s football; and how playing football influences the construction of femininity. I argue that the way these girls conduct themselves both physically and mentally, destabilises the feminine norm, thereby allowing a shift to occur. Rather than remaining objects for other’s gazes, they are transformed into acting subjects.