WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly

Abstract:

This paper uses the case of a soccer tournament in São Paulo, Brazil to elucidate the salience of beauty in the context of commercial sports. Over the past two decades, as women's soccer has become more popular in Brazil, the physical appearance of soccer players has also changed. I focus on the selection practices of a major tournament in São Paulo to explore the dynamics of "beautification" in women's soccer. Namely, how does the whitening and feminization of Brazilian women's athletic bodies illustrate the racial logics that shape beauty? I draw on interviews with players, including the former national team captain, as well as an analysis of media coverage in order to investigate the tournament's exclusions and to make connections between the decisions of private soccer entrepreneurs and nationalist eugenic legacies.