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

Poulton, E.

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
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1404516