It’s Not That You Hate Women’s Football. It’s That You Hate Women.

Another major tournament. Another wave of fragile masculinity.

We’ve seen this before, and here it is again. The women’s football discourse.

As coverage of women’s football grows (rightfully), so too does a predictable backlash. You’ve likely heard it - the men who insist they “just don’t like it,” or that it’s being “shoved down their throats,” or that “no one watches it anyway.” But peel back the thinly-veiled complaints, and you’ll find that this isn’t really about football.

It’s about misogyny.

Let's be honest though folks, the reaction to women’s football isn’t about sport. It’s about who’s allowed to take up space, and who is not.

Football, Patriarchy & Power

Football has long been held up as a pillar of British masculinity. A space where men bond, perform, rage, cry (but only at penalties), and embody the kind of masculine expression that society permits.

So when women enter that space, not just as fans, but as athletes, as heroes, as leaders - it disrupts the whole framework. It challenges the deeply entrenched belief that physical strength, dominance, and competitiveness are inherently male traits.

And for some men, that’s threatening. Because if women can play just as well, with just as much passion, then what does that say about manhood?

If football is a cultural cornerstone of masculinity, then women playing it well becomes a threat to the entire structure.

“We Don’t Like It” or “We Don’t Like What It Represents”?

Truth is, a lot of the criticism isn’t about how women play football. It’s about what women playing football represents.

• It represents women stepping into public power.

• It represents a challenge to patriarchal dominance.

• It represents gender equity in a space that men have been told is exclusively theirs.

It isn’t women’s football they hate. It’s women in power. Women in celebration. Women in joy. Women in control of their bodies, stories, and success.

The Racist, Homophobic, and Transphobic Underbelly

And if that isn't bad enough, time to go deeper. Because the hatred doesn’t stop at gender. When Black women and queer women thrive on the pitch, the vitriol intensifies. Misogynoir (the specific hatred of Black women) bubbles up in comments sections. Homophobic slurs are thrown at out players. Trans and non-binary athletes are erased or demonised altogether.

The policing of women’s bodies becomes ever more brutal when it intersects with race, queerness, or gender non-conformity. And when players don’t look, love, or live the way patriarchal society expects them to? That’s when the backlash becomes even more aggressive.

It’s not just about football. It’s about control.

Joy is Resistance. So Keep Watching.

We don’t need to justify women’s football. We don’t need to prove its value. It’s already there - in packed stadiums, record-breaking viewership, and the millions of girls and LGBTQ+ people watching, playing, and believing.

This isn’t a phase - it is very much a revolution.

And to the men whining about having it “shoved in their faces”? Maybe it’s time you asked yourself why you’re so uncomfortable watching women thrive. Because it’s not just about the game. It never was.