For the love of Sporty Spice: the interaction of gender, sexuality, and sport in /s/ production

Abstract While research into the interaction of language and sexuality is becoming increasingly widespread, there is still little sociophonetic sexuality work that considers female speakers and much of the previous research focuses on a binary distinction of gay women compared to straight women. This study instead considers a distinct identity that distinguishes female speakers based on their participation in local football. This analysis shows that participants who are part of their local football team have significantly different /s/ productions than those who were not part of the team. This article suggests that this difference may connect to aspects of gender identity and sexuality and discusses the societal factors that may influence this relation between identity and football.