AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League

Objective The introduction of the Women’s Australian Football League (AFLW) has highlighted the inequality faced by women football players (e.g., season length), with the consumerism and fanbase of the women’s AFL lacking comparatively with the men’s league. The paucity of research into the AFLW and...

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Main Authors: Mackenzie Rose Glazbrook, Stephanie Newton Webb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Australian Journal of Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2024.2315949
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author Mackenzie Rose Glazbrook
Stephanie Newton Webb
author_facet Mackenzie Rose Glazbrook
Stephanie Newton Webb
author_sort Mackenzie Rose Glazbrook
collection DOAJ
description Objective The introduction of the Women’s Australian Football League (AFLW) has highlighted the inequality faced by women football players (e.g., season length), with the consumerism and fanbase of the women’s AFL lacking comparatively with the men’s league. The paucity of research into the AFLW and attitudes towards women’s sport, limits our understanding of the predictors of these attitudes. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the factors that may influence the development of attitudes towards the AFLW.Method Data were collected from a community sample (N = 171), to evaluate attitudes towards both AFLW consumerism, and the endorsement of gender equality within the AFL.Results Results revealed that basic demographic factors were influential in attitude development (i.e., age, gender), however the most prominent predictor of attitudes towards the AFLW was gender role ideology, suggesting that beliefs about gender roles may influence anti-AFLW attitudes.Conclusions The findings reflect an ongoing perception of sport as a masculine space, and as such, a need to adjust marketing approaches to frame the AFLW in a manner that encourages consumer behaviour. Future research directions are discussed.
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spelling doaj-art-4bfc1bc9adce40e18fa824364acf749f2024-12-09T05:33:26ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAustralian Journal of Psychology0004-95301742-95362024-12-0176110.1080/00049530.2024.2315949AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football LeagueMackenzie Rose Glazbrook0Stephanie Newton Webb1Justice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, AustraliaJustice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, AustraliaObjective The introduction of the Women’s Australian Football League (AFLW) has highlighted the inequality faced by women football players (e.g., season length), with the consumerism and fanbase of the women’s AFL lacking comparatively with the men’s league. The paucity of research into the AFLW and attitudes towards women’s sport, limits our understanding of the predictors of these attitudes. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the factors that may influence the development of attitudes towards the AFLW.Method Data were collected from a community sample (N = 171), to evaluate attitudes towards both AFLW consumerism, and the endorsement of gender equality within the AFL.Results Results revealed that basic demographic factors were influential in attitude development (i.e., age, gender), however the most prominent predictor of attitudes towards the AFLW was gender role ideology, suggesting that beliefs about gender roles may influence anti-AFLW attitudes.Conclusions The findings reflect an ongoing perception of sport as a masculine space, and as such, a need to adjust marketing approaches to frame the AFLW in a manner that encourages consumer behaviour. Future research directions are discussed.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2024.2315949Women’s sportattitudesgender rolesprejudicesports consumerism
spellingShingle Mackenzie Rose Glazbrook
Stephanie Newton Webb
AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League
Australian Journal of Psychology
Women’s sport
attitudes
gender roles
prejudice
sports consumerism
title AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League
title_full AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League
title_fullStr AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League
title_full_unstemmed AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League
title_short AFLW and the gender gap: an analysis of public attitudes towards the Women’s Australian Football League
title_sort aflw and the gender gap an analysis of public attitudes towards the women s australian football league
topic Women’s sport
attitudes
gender roles
prejudice
sports consumerism
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2024.2315949
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