'I'm into high heels and make up but I still love football': exploring gender identity and football participation with preadolescent girls.

This article examines the influence participating in football has on girls' gender identity construction. Set within the context of the rapid increase in the number of females playing football and the changing notions of femininity within contemporary girlhood, the article explores whether playing can assist with reshaping traditional notions of femininity. It draws on data collected during a six-month ethnographic study with a small group of 10- and 11-year-old girls. Butler's1 concept of performativity is used to provide a theoretical framework for understanding gender identity construction. Methodologically, the research is underpinned by feminist and childhood sociology epistemological principles. A range of participatory methods have been utilized to assist the girls with communicating their views on the complex and abstract area of gender identity. The research findings indicate that whilst playing football was considered 'acceptable' the way girls played was heavily restricted by traditional notions of femininity. Girls had to look 'feminine' and be committed to cultivating a slim idealized body. The 'way' they played was also limited by discourses of acceptable female embodiment. Aggressive, assertive and physical play was not tolerated. Girls' participation was therefore limited by dominant feminine discourses which constrained their involvement and prevented football from providing a site for alternative performances of femininity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]