This website is about Arsenal Football Club. The vast majority of what we cover is about the first team, but obviously there’s stuff about reserves and youth, boardroom and financial stories, the players, transfers, tactics, and loads more.
Arsenal also have a women’s team: Arsenal Women. Tim Stillman gets some exclusive interviews – like the one earlier today with new signing Vivianne Miedema – and we try to have as much coverage as we possibly can, although it’s still quite small.
It’s probably less than 1% of the output of the site, but it’s there, and hopefully fans of Arsenal Women find it interesting and engaging.
However, every single time we make a post about the women’s team, we get unfortunate interactions. So, just to be quite clear about this, here are a few reminders.
1 – Reading the posts about Arsenal Women is not compulsory or mandatory in any way. You can simply choose to ignore them if you’re not interested in them.
2 – Nobody else cares if you’re not interested, so don’t feel the need to share that in a comment or a Tweet etc.
3 – Leaving a comment saying ‘Who cares?’ is a waste of your time and mine. Me, because I have to delete it, and you because you’ve just made yourself look like a twat because you obviously care enough to leave a comment in the first place.
4 – There is no need to compare the quality of the Arsenal Women’s team with the first team (even if that gap appears to be closing at the moment).
5 – It is not necessary for you to specify which members of the women’s team you would like to go bed with if given the chance. It also goes without saying that you will not be given that chance. Ever.
6 – When you think you’re making a joke by saying something about women staying in the kitchen, you’re not funny. You’re a tired, boring old sexist and you can find somewhere else to share your so-called humour. We recommend you do us all a favour and make it the inside of an active volcano.
In short, if you like Arsenal Women we’ll do our best to bring you stories, interviews and articles that are interesting and relevant.
And if you don’t, your life won’t be affected in any way because: see point 1.
Good stuff.
You legend Arseblog.
Great post. Hope you never need to do this again.
Hahahahahaha
Pure gold
The banter – the quality of the women’s team and the men’s team ? ?
really sad that this even needs to be written.
Agreed, and thanks for the excellent work re: Arsenal ladies.
COYG
*women
And there are still c*nts that down-vote your comment. 🙁
Yes, be gentlemen, gentlemen.
What dickheads downvoted this? Honestly people I’d rather support the women anyway. They put tons of effort into every game.
How could you possibly downvote this!? It’s 2017 ffs!!
Amen! I like reading about the ladies. Good to have content beyond simply the Arsenal website
Well said, Blogs. In any case, at this point, I’m probably more interested in the women’s team than the men’s.
Amen to that! Thanks for all the great work.
Here here, though I don’t find anything wrong with saying a player is attractive, as long as it’s tasteful, non gratuitous and not the main point of the comment.
Otherwise HFB needs a new nickname!
Exactly! If we can joke about the looks of Giroud and Pires surely we can do the same with the ladies.
It’s actually a different thing die to the structural nature of society that belittle women by only judging them by their attractiveness. You can joke about Giroud because it’s clear that a) you aren’t serious and b) you still value him as a human and footballer. Same can’t be said about men “joking” about women.
Yes and no. There’s a way to do it. Solutions aren’t found by lopsided rules like that.
Solutions aren’t found by pressing forward and ignoring the issue that exists.
It’s exactly the same thing, the only difference is in your perception.
Again no. Perception isn’t the issue. It’s the societal conditions in which the conversation exists. That sort of context is important. It’s important for people to understand the context in which their comments will be heard as they will influence how they are heard. You may think it’s all ok but others will hear the sexism inherent in society.
Then it’s up to you set them straight. I could use a phrase like fox in the box to describe a top woman striker, in exactly the same way as I would use hfb. The implication toward either player would be exactly the same. If someone perceives it as something other than that because they have different expectations of society to me, then they can express that opinion and I will correct them.
Though this comment will have a negative reaction it defines what conversation/chat ought to be
I’m sure that posting that a women’s striker is a “fox in the box” is pretty tame stuff and even acceptable banter. Belittling them in a clearly sexist and disrespectful manner is not, if your not sure about your comment, then ask your girlfriend, sister, or mother.
K.B
Point A is technically insensitive to the homosexuals. Their sexuality is not a matter of joke or is it? The point is not to be disrespectful when dismissing or criticising. If you are not serious than using a sensitive subject like sexuality for humour is not very wise because the ones who made those comments will miss the point anyway but will be encourged to use the same language their way.
Agree with everything apart from the sleeping with players bit because blogs is guilty of that wish too. I witnessed you lusting over Giroud many a times..
The funny thing is, the women are a much better team and win a lot more silverware. They have earned respect.
This is if not the only at least the best reason to discuss the Lady Gunners with respect, as they earned it
They bloody well have !
Thank you! More football, less sexism
Brilliantly put
Just going to add this to the list of reasons why Arseblog is my favourite Arsenal site.
Favourite site tbh
Hate that this was necessary but love that you did it. Love the robust coverage of the club all around. Arsenal being pioneers in all aspects of the game is why this American fell in love so long ago.
Saw Arsenal ladies beat Spurs 10-0 last season. Was a great day.
If only! Awesome!
If ont the men could fucking well do that lmao
This is why I love this site.
Hah thank you ! I do follow the Arsenal Women’s team & they kick ass ! Would love to read more about them here. Cheers
Just to add to the comments above – worth remembering that the Arsenal Women are currently a lot more competitive in their league than the men.
Who cares? I kid I kid..really interesting to find out about an arsenal team that is actually challenging for the title every season. Always had an eye on the women’s game because my sister was so much better at footy than me and our brothers so its something I’ve always watched. Keep up the good work arseblog
Thank you. Of course it’s sad that it needs to be stated, but good on you for stating it.
Some people still seem incredibly insecure when they have to acknowledge that women are involved with football. Whenever TV stations here have a female commentator, Twitter just runs over with stupidity. And now that there is a female referee (yes, one!) in our top league, there are people who act like little boys whose toys have been ruined because a girl touched them.
It’s great to see this site, at least, isn’t providing those people with a comfortingly male-only safe space.
‘Is Gunners , Is good ‘ ?
Yes please, more stories on all of the Arsenal teams, no matter age or gender.
Good man bloggs
Well said Blogs 🙂
Seems pretty straight forward to me! Well said (shame it needed saying)
It’s only addressing an odious few, seems to me most people here have a pretty decent way of looking at things. Unless we lose of course, then all bets are off
Totally agree with you on this.
‘less than 1%’ of your output isn’t really enough, is it? The women’s game needs to be covered more in the media.
BIG ?
Really feel like I should actually go see them play some time, they play In my town and sounds like they’ve got some of the best forwards around now
Yeah, you really should 🙂
You should! They’ve got a few of the best players in the world.
I love how articulate and clear you are in expressing basic human values. Keep up the good work! I owe you many beers the next time you’re in SF!
This article once again reminds us why Blogs is a top site. Thanks Andrew!
Do people need to be reminded that Arsenal have been pioneering womens’ football long before many others took notice? Many of todays female stars owe their career to Arsenal. Before womens’ football was BANNED just after the war it attached crowds as big as 60k! That’s right, womens football was banned in this country, it has come a long way in a very short space of time.
Bravo Andrew
A much needed post, sadly. Thank you and thank you for the articles about the Women’s team as well. Looking forward to more of the same.
Thank you. I really appreciate this and you.
At least the Women’s team actually seem to give a sh*t. The quality of the women’s game has grown, partly due to increased coverage. Thank you and keep up the good work!
4 – There is no need to compare the quality of the Arsenal Women’s team with the first team (even if that gap appears to be closing at the moment).
Agreed, the men may even catch up with them soon…
Haha!
Hahahahaha pure gold
Well said.
Well said, and very well written.
ALL ARSENAL fans should read this and take note.
Thank you #ArsenalWomen
Amen to that!
Good points well made. Fuck the patriarchy.
Great article but if it’s appropriate to make comments about how attractive Giroud and Pires are, why can’t similar comments be made about the ladies? (Unless those comments are ridiculously profane)
One reason is because when it comes to being judged on looks, women face a lot more acute scrutiny in that department and it’s often steeped in sexism and misogyny.
And as Blogs said, if that’s ALL you’re interested in commenting about then none of us will miss out if you decide to keep it to yourself.
I’ve been following the Ladies for many years and having Tim’s pieces on here has added to my knowledge and enjoyment of the team. Ladies football was even more popular than the men’s game after the 1st World War and the FA and league shit themselves and stopped it in its tracks. I thought those dark days of ignorance and discrimination were behind but obviously I was wrong. Until money came into the Ladies game The Arsenal Ladies were the best in Britain and a joy to watch. sadly the team broke up as huge wages were offered to our… Read more »
It’s really reassuring to read both this article and the (so far) 100% supportive comments. The BBC has also started including noticeably more women’s football content on their main football page, which is great to see but has also attracted the same undercurrent of mindlessly sexist comments. It’s exactly as Blogs says – if they’re not interested, why not just ignore it? Luckily the women’s game is making impressive strides forward regardless of their objections.
Yes to more Arsenal Women’s content ?
Well said. I am hoping 99.9% of Arsenal fans are better than such pathetic comments. Let’s try and make it 100%.
Come on guys we can be better than this. Arsenal Women deserve our respect.
Everyone deserves respect.
But I don’t think we should remove jokes that are said in good spirits.
Any joke could hurt someone’s feelings.
Either everything’s fair cop? Or nothing at all?
If you start differentiating what’s fair cop? and what’s not? Your just a hypocrite who’s trying to score cheap points with people to appear PC.
Just my opinion…. I’ve never criticised women’s football.
But as long as people are playing around in good spirits with no malus intended?
I don’t see what the problem is?
This is a post about Arsenal Women and I said they specifically deserve our respect. Don’t come here with your “but everybody deserves respect” logic.
You know full well that women playing sport, women’s football, and women in general get mocked and derided.
Sometimes you have to take care to show respect where it hasn’t traditionally been given. It’s how we move forward as a society and it’s really not that hard to understand.
Two things:
1.) I realized today that I use my boilk! coffee mug to create boilks!
2.) For someone not in the UK, what options are available for following Arsenal Woman’s team TV wise? Arsenal player?
Great comment Andrew. It’s disapointing that in 2017 people still make neanderthal comments like some of those here.As a womens coach my entire.coaching career its something I’ve dealt with for over 20 years. Please contiue reporting on the Arsenal Ladies. Love to hear about them.
David
Weymouth Mass USA
They were renamed Arsenal Women recently.
This IS one of, if not the most depressing posts related to the Arsenal. Depressing because it is even necessary. Let’s keep our behaviour, like our beloved club, classy.
It’s a shame you have to write something like this. Just goes to show that some folk are what they are 😀
It’s perfectly ok to joke about insulting a kid with a dead father?
However make a harmless joke in good spirits about women’s place being in the Kitchen? or state which Arsenal women footballer you fancy? … and that’s forbidden?
But its fine to talk about attractiveness of Giroud? or Pires?
Political correctness gone crazy….
But I suppose if you run the website, you’re free to make up the rules.
oh bore off
a) I’m pretty sure Arseblog has never joked about or even condoned insulting a kid with a dead father. In fact they routinely condemn some of the less tasteful chants from our own fans. b) Could you give an example of a situation where a joke about a woman’s place being in the kitchen would be in ‘good spirits’ and not degrading? c) Saying Giroud or Pires are attractive is not the same as reducing them to objects of sexual desire. Nobody’s asking you not to call Arsenal Women players pretty, just suggesting maybe not to list the ones you… Read more »
Did you read yesterday’s blog? He openly joked about him and his brother abusing a kid who had a dead father. I’m sure it was meant in good spirits, and as a joke. I wasn’t offended by it. Its just double standards. What’s worse? Joking about a woman’s place being in the kitchen? Which I assume the majority of guys who say that, do so with tounge firmly in cheek. Or joking about abusing a kid for not having a father? Either everything is ok to make fun of? Or nothing at all? Who decides how to differentiate? If a… Read more »
This is Arseblog not the Daily Mail…. I think there was a degree of licence in the story about the Betamax where the kid with the dead dad story emerged. It was quite clearly authors licence as opposed to a factual account. Truth mixed with fiction…
Almost like the Arsenal board. Minus the truth of course.
Jokes celebrating exploitation and oppression and domination of one group by another are not harmless. For example, jokes about how women’s place is in the kitchen reinforce ideas that women should be be allowed to pursue jobs they’re interested in, which confuses boys into believing that might be true, so they make bad decisions when they’re in charge of hiring later, or trying to plan a life with their life in the future; and it’s demoralizing and disheartening for girls contemplating their futures and trying to live free and happy lives. This is political correctness in the best sense –… Read more »
Jokes said in good spirit as far as I’m aware have never done too much damage?
Go back to reading your Guardian newspaper… and sitting around with your mates smelling each other’s farts and telling each other how great they smell.
…and the fact you readily dismiss people by ascribing them to some stereotypical category (‘Guardian readers’ ffs!) shows what a narrow-minded and prejudicial person you are.
People who write things like ‘Political correctness gone crazy….’ are usually missing the fucking point.
Explain it to me please? While Trump was imposing a travel ban, the British government allowed a known terror suspect to travel to Syria+Libya so he could blow up a bunch of kids at an Ariana Grande concert. While lefties marched the streets in the name of political correctness opposing such travel ban. Gay people love to march and oppose anything and everything that restricts their rights… and rightly so. But I’ve never seen them oppose an ideology which would have them either thrown off the side of a building, or that 52% of such people believe they should be… Read more »
This is a football site so am not going to take the bait and respond in detail to your rant. Suffice to say I believe you are wrong on so many levels and fundamentally disagree with every word in your post.
I shall retire in disgust to my Yurt, try not to choke on my moong bean and quinoa stew and generally make the world a much more dangerous place with my Bolshevik views.
What you mean is:
Everything I say goes against your ideals, but because I’m factually right you don’t have a valid arguement to hit me with ?
If your main point of reference is Donald Trump I could win the argument in my sleep/in absentia/under heavy sedation.
But I refer back to previous comments that this is a football blog. You could always rock up on an EDL or Daily Mail site as I am sure they would be delighted to welcome someone with such considered, well thought through opinions. You can spout at will over there.
Rich I think what you are trying to say is that if white people never started colonising the world there wouldn’t be any problems.
I agree. xxx
‘Political correctness’ is a convenient and often meaningless term that some people use to hide behind, when they’d rather not face up to their own prejudices. Your comments make it apparent you’re one of those people. The number of thumbs down you’re getting suggests the most of the people on here agree with me. Don’t take it as a dig. Think about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, then take time to reflect on why people one here are opposing your views.
The thing is, it’s not harmless. A woman’s place being in the home is a comment and outlook steeped in sexism and misogyny.
A joke said in good faith with good intentions will always be harmless.
This is a fact.
One persons harmless is many people’s offence. You may notice I’ve kept my comments gender neutral which I’m sure you appreciate ?
Harmless to you?
Sure.
Harmless to the people/groups you’re insulting?
Nope.
Yeah! Following the women will be a lot more fun this year then the first team. More news please! And cross fingers for the men.