Educational Media Reviews Online

Victorious is a film about the DC Divas women's professional football team, one of several in the Women's Football Association, and the dramatic arc of their undefeated 2015/2016 season. There are narratives from the players, coaches and fans about what playing a women's full contact sport means to the players, the team and the fans.

Sexual Orientation Gender Identity/Expression (SOGIE) plays a central role in the documentary, as players become romantically involved, or relationships end. The heterosexual players also confront gender stereotypes in their families and social circles. For example, one player was asked by her husband to consider the ramifications of being injured, he asked her about how it impacts her as a mother, she replies that football "takes me away from being a mother."

The quarterback of the team Allison Hamlin points out that women who play full contact sports fight gender stereotypes, “Society in general has a hard time seeing women as beautiful and powerful at the same time… the great thing about football is that you can unleash your aggression and you drive and your pure will to win. But still be a woman at the same time.” Other full contact sports such as women's rugby or roller derby have a similar struggle. In general, women who play a full contact sport are often considered masculine, overly competitive or labeled lesbians, because sport is in general a men's activity.

One of the color announcers for the DC Divas directly addresses gender in sport and aggressive play. Sports network announcer states that watching women play sports is something sports fans in general like to do. She goes on to say that the “DC swag though” makes a difference. “People like to watch women play tennis, play golf... those are nice little girl sports. And basketball... it took a minute, but they like that because we play under the rim… You don’t have to worry about women grabbing the rim, shaking it being aggressive… So you allow us to do that but football is a whole nother level. It is about gender norms that are placed on women in our society.”

This doc would be a great item for a higher education course in Philosophy of Sport, Sociology of Sport, Women's Studies/Gender Studies/ LGBTQ studies.

Awards:

Best Documentary Bushwick Film Festival

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