THIS FAN GIRL

THIS FAN GIRL

Long has the term ‘fan girl’ been laden with negative connotations, especially beyond the world of football. The immediate image generated in the mind is often one of the crazy teen who is overly obsessed with some kind of pop culture or typically trivial social group.

But This Fan Girl is looking to change all of that. The blog-style website aims to reflect the true nature of girls and women who regularly attend football games and have a genuine love for their club. Those behind the site describe the movement as ‘an unfolding photography series, aiming to capture the many faces of the female football fan’.

The website highlights the fact that “the way female fans are portrayed in the media isn't reflective of the women we see when we go to matches; the ones who support their teams come rain or shine, whether they're top of the league or facing relegation”.

As pointed out on the website, the number of women attending football matches across the United Kingdom continues to grow every singly year, with female fans constituting up to a quarter of the attendance at some games. However, Amy and Laura, the two ladies behind the blog, state that women are still widely underrepresented within the contemporary footballing landscape.

The images also reveal the extreme diversity within football fanbases – not just the fact that females do attend football matches as genuine supporters, but also that they can be young, old, black, white. They are all football fans.

Amy and Laura outlined on their website: “Over the 2016/2017 season, we're spending every weekend travelling across the UK to capture the faces and document the stories of the real female football fan, celebrating that in all its diversity.”

For more information about the movement and to see more of the great photographs captured, head to http://www.thisfangirl.com, Facebook or Twitter.