by Trinity Brown (8/11/23)
Above: Aston Villa’s Alisha Lehmann celebrating a goal at Arsenal in May. Her persistent treatment from elements of the media needs to change. Photo: Adam Johnstone for Impetus.
Disrespecting women and female footballers is part of society and prevalent in the women’s game. This misogyny does not just come from individual men, but also some parts of the media, which sexualizes some players, presents others as ‘masculine’ and vilifies them to no end, and creates an aura around some players because they are confident then they have to be arrogant.
Aston Villa’s Swiss international Alisha Lehmann has 16 million followers on Instagram – one of the most followed female footballers. The type of coverage that some media outlets impose on her can be encapsulated by this comment from the Daily Mail: “World’s sexiest footballer Alisha Lehmann is targeted by trolls for wearing make-up during Switzerland’s 7-1 drubbing by Spain – and posting photos from the game on Instagram.”
Why is it that they have started off with “World’s sexiest footballer’, and not just her name? There is no reason why the Daily Mail should be using “World’s sexiest footballer” as a clickbait headline. The Daily Mail is not alone in doing this. I feel it dehumanises Alisha Lehmann and it makes her out to be some sort of seductress. Indeed, with this dehumanisation, it makes the audience more likely to sexualise her.
There are many articles that use her name to gather more interaction and more engagement trying to hook in the male audience, there are many players who are constantly sexualised.
Something that I feel is interesting is the way the internet views Sam Kerr. Australia’s top goal scorer is viewed in a completely different way from Lehmann. Where the Swiss star is sexualised for being “too feminine” the opposite is done with Kerr.
The Matilda has a comparatively masculine presence in the way she dresses off the pitch. There are a number of instances of men or boys viewing in a masculine way. Kerr is currently in a relationship with American footballer Kristie Mewis, and it has, again been commented that it is Kerr who “wears the trousers.”
It is time that these women in football are not seen as objects or villains, for the media’s gratification to create some elaborate narrative of who is good and who is bad. These are simply woman who are doing their job.
Whilst there will always be individuals who want to be sexual or vilify woman, it’s another matter when media outlets are doing this and attacking women for simply being “unapologetically” themselves.
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