Flying the flag: gender and national identity in English newspapers during the 2006 World Cup

This essay analyses selected English newspapers’ gendered narratives about the English soccer team’s star player, Wayne Rooney, and the captain, David Beckham. Narratives are compared with those devoted to Rooney’s fiancée, Coleen McLoughlin, and Beckham’s wife, Victoria, who with other players’ wives and girlfriends (WAGS) travelled to Germany to support England during the 2006 World Cup. It uses textual analysis to examine how the newspapers’ gendered narratives intersected with nationalistic discourses. Theoretical insight is drawn from Connell’s theory of gender power relations. Narratives about Rooney emphasize his northern working-class roots in the construction of his hegemonic hypermasculinity and role as a ‘patriot at play,’ while narratives about McLoughlin illustrate her subordinate role. More fluid and contradictory narratives are reserved for Beckham, who is known for his more androgynous image, and his wife Victoria, whose strong influence over ‘the skipper’ challenged the traditional gender order.