Changing the Game: Faculty Spotlight With Brenda Elsey Megan Byrd

Changing the Game: Brenda Elsey Megan Byrd

Brenda Elsey is someone who has a keen eye for the stories that our general histories leave out. A Professor of History at Hofstra University, Elsey has also directed the Women’s Studies program, and is co-director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program, so it makes sense that much of her work lives at the intersection of gender and social justice. Her newest book, Futbolera: A History of Women and Sports in Latin America (University of Texas Press, May 2019), co-written with Joshua Nadel, interrogates a missing piece of social history. “I first became interested in Latin America as a place of political innovation,” Elsey said. “As I traveled through the region, soccer was a constant. It seemed an obvious point of entry for a student of gender and class history. When I couldn’t find scholarly studies, I figured I may be able to contribute to writing that history.”

Elsey’s first book, Citizens and Sportsmen: Fútbol and Politics in Twentieth-Century Chile (University of Texas, 2011) was entirely about men. Elsey attributes this to social issues occurring in Latin America at that time. “Women’s sports is not used as part of national identity in the same way as men’s is. In the case of men’s soccer, I could use it as a lens to understand national identity, the government’s interference in cultural affairs, and, depending on which government I was talking about, I could use it to think about professionalization, and ideals of masculinity,” Elsey said.

Futbolera changes this notion, opening up an entirely new conversation about the role gender plays in both soccer and athleticism. In the book’s introduction, the term Futbolera is described as: a deceptively straightforward way to refer to a girl or a woman who plays football, or soccer. …They thus serve as metaphors for women’s appearance in the historical narrative. When raised in public debate, the futbolera was

shorthand for a woman who went “too far,” a red herring, or a strange monstrosity.

“This idea that if sports, especially soccer, was useful in raising proper men then it must not be useful in raising proper women. That actually, it must compromise their ideal gender identity,” said Elsey. Futbolera works to recast this idea.

Elsey and her co-writer, Joshua Nadel, confront not only the ideals of masculinity and femininity prevalent in the twentieth century but also the political implications they had to women’s bodies in Futbolera. “The question is, why was it so threatening just to have women play soccer? It’s unbelievable. It has to do with denying them access to leisure time, to public space, and to just general respect,” said Elsey.

While Futbolera explores mostly the histories of Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico, it has a very universal appeal in terms of women’s issues. From underground communities that formed under the suppression of women’s sports to the broad history of the formation and funding of women’s soccer teams, the ideas explored go beyond the borders of Latin America.

Elsey recently extended the conversation in March 2019 when she hosted “Critical Sports Communities: New Directions in Sports Scholarship, Journalism and Activism”, a two-day symposium co-presented by Hofstra University and Columbia University. Inspired by the NFL anthem protests and activism within the WNBA, Elsey and symposium co-director Frank Guridy sought to push the topic beyond the sports pages, bringing together scholars, journalists, and activists to discuss the recent revolution sports has undergone and its potential for a space of inclusivity and social change.

Elsey has become a leading voice on the subject of women and sports. Elsey was awarded a Fulbright in Argentina for 2017-2018 to research women, gender, and sexuality in Argentine football. She is also co-host of the podcast “Burn It All Down,” which discusses the intersections between sports and feminism. Her articles have appeared in Vice, The New Republic, Sports Illustrated, The Guardian and more, covering topics like #MeToo allegations against the athlete Cristiano Ronaldo, trans athletes, and equal funding of women’s soccer teams in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Having a background

in Latin American history gives Elsey an unique perspective of the condition of women’s sports there today.

There is an exclusivity to the themes of Futbolera, but only in that they concern mostly women’s history, which is already a minority subject. It’s noted in the book’s introduction that: much remains to be researched on the multiple ways in which class, race, ethnicity, and sexuality shaped the meaning and experience of women.

This uncharted research is what continues to propel Elsey—and her work. Her symposium covered topics on women in sports that most publications either gloss over or don’t recognize at all. Her articles deal with stories only someone with a deep knowledge of the culture of Latin America and soccer can approach. And Futbolera ventures through territory no other history book has touched. Through her research and writing, Elsey champions the mantle of futbolera, as someone who pushes; someone who doesn’t just study change, but makes it happen.

Megan Byrd grew up in Taylor, Texas and now studies Creative Writing and Fine Art at Hofstra University. Her work has been published in Newsday, Plain China, Font, and Growl.