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Towards Understanding: Antisemitism and the Contested Uses and Meanings of ‘Yid’ in English Football

Poulton, E.

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Abstract

This article addresses an omission in the currently brief body of work on antisemitism in football and contributes to and advances wider sociological debates in the sub-disciplines of race and ethnicity, religion, linguistics and sport. The article examines antisemitic discourse in English football and in doing so, explains the different uses and meanings of ‘Yid’ in the vernacular culture of fans. While many conceive of ‘Yid’ as an ethnic epithet, fans of Tottenham Hotspur – Gentiles and Jews – have appropriated and embraced the term, using it to deflect the antisemitic abuse they are targeted with due to their ‘Jewish identity’. The study maps the contested uses of ‘Yid’ on a continuum to explain and demarcate between the nuanced forms of antisemitism in football. It makes central the cultural context in which ‘Yid’ is used, together with the intent underpinning its use, since epithets and slurs are not simply determined by their lexical form.

Citation

Poulton, E. (2016). Towards Understanding: Antisemitism and the Contested Uses and Meanings of ‘Yid’ in English Football. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(11), 1981-2001. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2016.1140791

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 11, 2015
Online Publication Date Feb 16, 2016
Publication Date Sep 1, 2016
Deposit Date May 17, 2016
Publicly Available Date Aug 16, 2017
Journal Ethnic and Racial Studies
Print ISSN 0141-9870
Electronic ISSN 1466-4356
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 11
Pages 1981-2001
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2016.1140791

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