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‘Si nos permiten jugar’: Constructing a Feminist Football in Latin America

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Women’s Football in Latin America

Abstract

Football carries a deeply embedded paradox. On the one hand, it was a cultural element of oppression that was imposed on dominated cultures during the colonial period in South and Central America. On the other hand, by using elements of their own cultures to transform the game, the colonised regained their voices and built a different football culture. This chapter explores the idea of a feminist decolonisation of football. The authors ask whether such a commodified game can still be a feminist tool for inclusion and social justice, rather than another asset of the neoliberal entertainment industry. Using a philosophical metaphor that traces parallels with the oral language of the colonisers, and the body language of football, we investigate whether it is still possible to consider football a revolutionary tool that can create new and more equitable ways to live a feminist life in South America. The chapter concludes that a feminist football must be continuously crafted in support of the Latin America’s freedom venture.

No soy, no hay yo, siempre somos nosotros

(I am not, there is no I, we are always us)

(Octavio Paz)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The English version was translated as Let Me Speak! Testimony of Domitila, a Woman of the Bolivian Mines.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Jorge Knijnik

  2. World Players Association, Melbourne, Australia

    Gabriela Garton

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  1. Jorge Knijnik
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  2. Gabriela Garton
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Correspondence to Jorge Knijnik .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Jorge Knijnik

  2. World Players Association, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Gabriela Garton

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Knijnik, J., Garton, G. (2022). ‘Si nos permiten jugar’: Constructing a Feminist Football in Latin America. In: Knijnik, J., Garton, G. (eds) Women’s Football in Latin America. New Femininities in Digital, Physical and Sporting Cultures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09127-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09127-8_16

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-09126-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-09127-8

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