Abstract
Hegemonic masculinity is defined as the most ‘honoured’ way of being a man, requiring all men
to try to meet its standards. It may be encountered randomly, sometimes at such dispersed,
everyday sites as sporting events. This article explores the authors’ ethnographic encounters with
hegemonic masculinities amongst football fans in Zimbabwe, particularly in the songs they sing.
Utilising Raewyn Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, the article argues that
Zimbabwean football fandom is tangled with hegemonic masculinities. The article demonstrates
a simultaneously covert and subtle, but always complex, relationship between football fandom
and masculinities, specifically hegemonic masculinity. The study’s major conclusion is that
hegemonic masculinity is strongly discursive and occasionally occurs even in the seemingly
most harmless mundane banter such as stadia songs. Despite the sometimes jovial nature of these
performances, there are power undercurrents involved.