Fernando’s crime and rugby skills: “The sport has always been and continues to be sexist, misogynist and homophobic”

Juan Branz is a doctor in Communication, former soccer player and author of the book “Machos de verdad”. His reflections on the practices that shape the world of rugby, the violence that characterizes it and also a clarification: “This is not a factory. of murderers”.

There is a system (the Patriarchy), with a set of practices that produce a dominant masculinity. This leads to in some social spaces, must respond to certain commands to be a “real macho”. Feminist movements have questioned this hegemonic discourse that women and diversity primarily suffer., but also men who do not fall within this logic. This social matrix is ​​often a condition for the possibility of situations of symbolic and other physical violence that end in death.

The crime of Fernando Báez Sosa caused boredom and horror in society. The pain of a family torn apart because of the murder of their son has increased. Without falling into generalities, these violent acts have occurred on other occasions among young people playing rugby. It is that dominant masculinity has identity markers associated with violence.

john branz He is a PhD in Communication (UNLP), a professor at the IDAES School (UNSAM) and a CONICET researcher. In addition, he is a professional footballer. He made the Inferiors in Estudiantes de La Plata and played in Defensores de Cambaceres, in Primera B. He is the author of the book Real men. Masculinities, sports and class in Argentina (Mascaró, 2019). In this work, he identifies what is the dominant masculine logic that occurs within rugby.

-How did your book come about and what does it contain?

-This is the job of seven-year relationship on the rugby field to do a doctorate. To analyze institutional documents, common sense speeches, rugby actors’ speeches, field observations, in different social spaces and to reconstruct biographical trajectories. I had to too reconstruct part of the social and cultural history of rugby in Argentina, work that, from the academic field, is scarce. So the book is the result of that research process. Understandable the feelings and meanings that rugby players themselves give to their space and to the idea of ​​being a person in our societies.

-What kind of masculinity is developed in rugby?

-Similarly done to those of us who do not play rugby, although with the difference of having to attend to the traditions of this sport (in any rugby club it is narrated, over and over again, because it gives effect to a sports space built by the ruling classes in Argentina). And in this key, the traditions involve a project on the part of the ruling class find in rugby a space of social and cultural difference. A man with an idea “desirable” He must be strong, brave, strong, white, but he must also be refined, a gentleman and moderate.. It is a link that is not promoted in all the spaces where we men travel. And, obviously, from those ideas and traditions the body is modeled. Culture materializes the body.

-When the crime of Fernando Báez happened, you declared that it should be found within the foreseeable. Why?
-I refer to the appeal to physical violence as a resource to resolve some kind of conflict. Not to kill. And I point this out because in my fieldwork I observed that physical violence is internalized, it is represented in a particular way in rugby. This is where social class, age and the traditions that shape rugby clubs (with few exceptions) come into play. then, within the cultural guidelines that organized this sport in Argentina, what the defendants did “it’s OK”is legitimate within an institutional and moral order.

– Do you think this kind of violence confirms dominant masculinity?
-No doubt. That male model needs proof yes or yes. Our male identity is so fragile that we have to prove it all the time. And we were also cursed at the masculinity of our group mates. That is, we constantly approve or challenge discourses and practices according to how a “real man” should behave..

-Do you think the killing of Fernando created a space for reflection in rugby?
Yes, and that is very good. The UAR and URBA opened spaces and called people from outside the field with the participation of women. This is very important. It is a slow but necessary process.

– Why do you point out that this kind of violence should not be associated with injustice or nonsense?
-Certainly our job is to understand the skills of the subjects we examine. So we do not trust when something is attributed to the category of “not reasonable”. We think back, all the time, to things with appearance “obvious” either “natural”.

Branz made the Inferior at Pincha and played at Cambaceres.

-As a result of this fact, can you not fall into the stigmatization of rugby?
– I said and repeated. Rugby is not a homogenous space and it is not a factory of murderers. These acts associated with violence are repeated. There is data that proves it.

-How can this system of relationships change in this social space?

-Urgent Law Micaela for all agents who develop rugby, democratizing access to rugby and greater participation of women in technical bodies, not only youth but senior staff

-Are there differences in the construction of masculinity between soccer and rugby?

-Yes and no. Yes, because social class relations are central. So, elements, data or thoughts like refinement, the moral division of the world between “fat blacks” Y “white knights” requires, to consolidate your presence in rugby, another method of perception and action that is effective in presenting you “man”. Let’s remember that rugby, in Argentina, is a sport that has not yet been integrated as a professional. But at the same time there is no difference with other sports because they share elements in their structure. Y the sport is and continues to be macho, misogynistic, homophobic. So there are regularities there. Fortunately, women and diversity have rocked this sports organization.

Photo: Twitter

If you want in-depth interviews, stories and ephemeris, follow the content of at an angle through TyC Sports. You can also register for free and indicate your preferences to receive notifications in your browser or download our APP (available at Android and iOS).