Socialization processes, motivations and gender role identification of female fans of male-played professional sports

Sport fan research has only recently started to consider the importance of gender-role orientation versus biological sex in the prediction of sport fan qualities, habits, or motivations. This study examined the relationship between gender-role orientation, vicarious living experiences, and family-of-origin experiences with sports and motivators for sport fandom among self-identified female fans of male-played professional sports. This study explored the ability of specific variables such as gender-role orientation to predict a self-identified female fan of sports' motivational factors for being a fan. Participants included 200 female fans of male-played professional sport that completed an Internet-based survey. Each participant completed a demographic questionnaire, a measure of sport fan motivation, a measure of gender-role orientation, and an open-ended survey question regarding their reasons for being a sport fan. Results of the study indicated a relationship between gender-role orientation and some motivators for fandom among female fans of male-played professional sports. Specifically, the more masculine traits participants reported the less likely those participants were to have also reported spending time with family or eustress as significant motivators for being a sport fan. Additionally, this study showed a connection between female fandom and family-of-origin experiences. Vicarious living was not found to be a significant factor in participants' fandom practice. In addition, participants' responses did not support a more traditional gender-role-related hypothesis which stated that women would be more likely to endorse the desire to spend time with family as a primary motivator for fandom practice. The data were further explored to reveal participants' tendencies to use sport fandom as a means to connect with men. These findings offer a starting point for future research in a variety of fields in which gender-role orientation may offer more specific insight into data versus the simple survey of biological sex.;Keywords. female sport fan, gender-role orientation, gender-role identification, motivation, vicarious living...