“Something Seriously Wrong With U.S. Soccer”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Consumers’ Twitter Responses to U.S. Soccer’s Girls’ Apparel Promotion

Click name to view affiliation

Katherine Sveinson School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Search for other papers by Katherine Sveinson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
*
and
Rachel Allison Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA

Search for other papers by Rachel Allison in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

In September 2020, U.S. Soccer Federation posted a promotional tweet for girls’ fan clothing which included feminized aesthetics. Within 48 hr, the tweet was deleted. Previous work has shown that sport fan clothing are important organizational artifacts that contain symbolic meanings. This study extends this insight by exploring consumer responses to material items. Three hundred and seven tweets responding to the original post were collected. Through critical discourse analysis, findings illustrate that responses were embedded in gender discourses, with overwhelming dislike for hyperfeminized items marketed to women and girls. The stereotypical gender norms in marketing resulted in consumers’ suggesting organizational culture issues within U.S. Soccer Federation. Furthermore, this strategy was perceived as a transgression by creating material items that do not align with consumers’ values. This study illustrates that the meanings associated with fan clothing go beyond consumer preferences in that apparel can represent a material manifestation of organizational culture.

  • Collapse
  • Expand
  • Allison, R. (2018). Kicking center: Gender and the selling of women’s professional soccer. Rutgers University Press.

  • Antunovic, D., & Hardin, M. (2015). Women and the blogosphere: Exploring feminist approaches to sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(6), 661677. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690213493106

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Asmelash, L., & Ries, B. (2020, July 8). These stats show how the USWNT leads in soccer—and how far it lags in compensation. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/08/sport/uswnt-btn-equal-pay-trnd/index.html

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Chen, J. (2020, August 4). Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/#TW-demos

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Clarke, L. (2019, July 1). World Cup merchandise is hard to find despite sport’s growing popularity. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/world-cup-merchandise-is-hard-to-find-despite-sports-growing-popularity/2019/07/01/b0186718-9c1c-11e9-9ed4-c9089972ad5a_story.html

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Coche, R. (2014). What women’s soccer fans want: A Twitter study. Soccer and Society, 15(4), 449471. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2012.753542

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Crane, D., & Bovone, L. (2006). Approaches to material culture: The sociology of fashion and clothing. Poetics, 34(6), 319333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2006.10.002

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Delia, E.B. (2020). The psychological meaning of team among fans of women’s sport. Journal of Sport Management, 34(6), 579590. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0404

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Longman.

  • Fairclough, N., Mulderrig, J., & Wodak, R. (2011). Critical discourse analysis. In T.A. van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary introduction (2nd ed., pp. 357378). Sage.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Flowerdew, J., & Richardson, J.E. (2018). Introduction. In J. Flowerdew, & J.E. Richardson (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of critical discourse studies (1st ed., pp. 119). Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Fullagar, S., Pavlidis, A., & Francombe-Webb, J. (2018). Feminist theories after the post-structuralist turn. In D. Parry, (Ed.), Feminisms in leisure studies: Advancing a fourth wave (pp. 3457). Routledge.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Fuller, L.K. (Ed.). (2021). Sportswomen’s apparel around the world: Uniformly discussed. Palgrave Macmillan.

  • Funk, D.C., Mahony, D.F., Nakazawa, M., & Hirakawa, S. (2001). Development of the sport interest inventory (SII): Implications for measuring unique consumer motives at team sporting events. International Journal of Sport Marketing & Sponsorship, 3(3), 3863. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-03-03-2001-B005

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Funk, D.C., Ridinger, L.L., & Moorman, A.M. (2003). Understanding consumer support: Extending the sport interest inventory (SII) to examine individual differences among women’s professional sport consumers. Sport Management Review, 6(1), 132. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1441-3523(03)70051-5

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Guest, A.M., & Luitjen, A. (2018). Fan culture and motivation in the context of successful women’s professional team sports: A mixed-methods case study of Portland Thorns fandom. Sport in Society, 21(7), 10131030. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2017.1346620

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Heilbrunn, B. (2015). Market mediations: Semiotic investigations on consumers, objects and brands. Palgrave Macmillan.

  • Henderson, C., Leopkey, B., & Zhang, J.J. (2018). The equalizer: Feminist themes in NWSL club marketing. In J.J. Zhang, & B.G. Pitts (Eds.), The global football industry: Marketing perspectives (pp. 269302). Routledge.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hindman, L.C., & Walker, N.A. (2020). Sexism in professional sports: How women managers experience and survive sport organizational culture. Journal of Sport Management, 34(1), 6476. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2018-0331

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hoeber, L., & Kerwin, S. (2013). Exploring the experiences of female sport fans: A collaborative self-ethnography. Sport Management Review, 16(3), 326336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2012.12.002

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Hytner, M. (2020, September 23). FFA to make women’s cut available after Matildas kit release mistake. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/23/ffa-to-make-womens-cut-available-after-matildas-kit-release-mistake

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Jones, K. (2008). Female fandom: Identity, sexism, and men’s professional football in England. Sociology of Sport Journal, 25(4), 516537. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.25.4.516

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lazar, M.M. (2007). Feminist critical discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse praxis. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(2), 141164. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405900701464816

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lazar, M.M. (2018). Feminist critical discourse analysis. In J. Flowerdew, & J.E. Richardson (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of critical discourse studies (pp. 372387). Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lazar, M.M., & Kramarae, C. (2011). Gender and power in discourse. In V. Dijk (Ed.), Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary introduction (pp. 217240). Sage.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lombardo, J. (2020, December 14). Best fashion statement: WNBA hoodie. Sports Business Daily. https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2020/12/14/Year-in-Review/Best-Fashion-Statement.aspx

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • McGannon, K.R. (2017). Critical discourse analysis in sport and exercise: What, why and how. In B. Smith, & A.C. Sparkes (Eds.), Routledge handbook of qualitative research in sport and exercise (pp. 230242). Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Miltner, K.M., & Highfield, T. (2017). Never gonna GIF you up: Analyzing the cultural significance of the animated GIF. Social Media and Society, 3(3), 111. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117725223

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Nielsen. (2020, March 2). Wise up to Women. https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2020/wise-up-to-women/

  • Oswald, L.R. (2012). Marketing semiotics: Signs, strategies, and brand value. Oxford University Press.

  • Oswald, L.R. (2015). Creating value: The theory and practice of marketing semiotics research. Oxford University Press.

  • Owyong, Y.S.M. (2009). Clothing semiotics and the social construction of power relations. Social Semiotics, 19(2), 191211. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330902816434

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Pace, K.M., Fediuk, T.A., & Botero, I.C. (2010). The acceptance of responsibility and expressions of regret in organizational apologies after a transgression. Corporate Communications, 15(4), 410427. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563281011085510

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Pegoraro, A. (2014). Twitter as disruptive innovation in sport communication. Communication & Sport, 2(2), 132137. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479514527432

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Phillips, N., & Hardy, C. (2002). Discourse analysis: Investigating processes of social construction. Sage.

  • Reichart Smith, L., & Smith, K.D. (2012). Identity in Twitter’s hashtag culture: A sport-media-consumption case study. International Journal of Sport Communication, 5(4), 539557. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.5.4.539

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Richards, J., Parry, K.D., & Gill, F. (2020). “The guys love it when chicks ask for help”: An exploration of female rugby league fans. Sport in Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1809380

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Sveinson, K., & Hoeber, L. (2016). Female sport fans’ experiences of marginalization and empowerment. Journal of Sport Management, 30(1), 821. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2014-0221

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Sveinson, K., & Hoeber, L. (2020). “So begins the demise of #Superman from Metropolis”: Consumers’ Twitter reactions to an athlete’s transgression. Sport Management Review, 23(5), 810823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2020.03.001

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Sveinson, K., Hoeber, L., & Heffernan, C. (2021). Critical discourse analysis as theory, methodology, and analyses in sport management studies. Journal of Sport Management, 35(5), 465475. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2020-0288

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Sveinson, K., Hoeber, L., & Toffoletti, K. (2019). “If people are wearing pink stuff they’re probably not real fans”: Exploring women’s perceptions of sport fan clothing. Sport Management Review, 22(5), 736747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2018.12.003

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Toffoletti, K. (2017). Women sport fans: Identification, participation, representation. Routledge.

  • Tradable Bits. (2019, August 23). Marketing sports to female fans. https://tradablebits.com/blog/marketing-sports-to-female-fans

  • U.S. Soccer [@USSoccer]. (2020, September 13). New styles available now! Shop today. [Tweet]. Twitter.

  • van Dijk, T.A. (1995). Discourse, semantics, and ideology. Discourse & Society, 6(2), 243289. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926595006002006

  • Wenner, L. (2012). Reading the commodified female sports fan: Interrogating strategic dirt and characterization in commercial narratives. In K. Toffoletti & P. Mewett (Eds.), Sport and its female fans (pp. 135151). Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Whitburn, D., Karg, A., & Turner, P. (2020). The effect of digital integrated marketing communications on not-for-profit sport consumption behaviors. Journal of Sport Management, 34(5), 417434. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0306

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2016). Critical discourse studies: History, agenda, theory and methodology. In R. Wodak, & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse studies (3rd ed., pp. 122). Sage.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Zappavigna, M. (2011). Ambient affiliation: A linguistic perspective on Twitter. New Media & Society, 13(5), 788806. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810385097

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 2649 1082 91
Full Text Views 372 203 14
PDF Downloads 348 122 7