Sports fandoms, historically, have been categorized as a male domain, even in academic studies. Therefore, as Formula 1 has been a sport with a remarkable increase in digital engagement and women are one of their main target audiences, I study Spanish F1 female fans’ behaviours, attitudes, and motivations towards F1 and Twitter as part of their fan experience. Through nethnographic methods, where semi-structured interviews and participant observations have been central, I try to gain knowledge about individual experiences as well as the functionality of the F1 Twitter community. It is illustrated that F1 female fans cannot be considered a homogeneous group by applying a postmodern feminist approach where identities are considered to be fluid, fractured, and in constant flux, distancing from previous feminist ideals that promoted binary and determinate gender concepts. Raney’s affective, cognitive and social/behavioural sets of motivations are employed in order to contemplate F1 female fans' motivation for consuming F1 and choosing Twitter as the social network to follow the sport. Moreover, Jenkin’s participatory culture is taken into account to analyse the F1 Twitter community. Patterns regarding becoming a fan due to Alonso's success and family ties, common interests in information and shared F1 popular knowledge are encountered. However, diverse usage of Twitter and different levels of sense of belonging to TwF1 are also displayed. Hence, I conclude that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of them because despite displaying different facets, F1 female fans are ‘authentic’ fans who should be taken into consideration by sports, media and fan studies in addition to sports organizations and fellow fans.

Cette recherche s’intéresse aux pratiques, aux valeurs et aux représentations des amatrices de rap francophones qui vivent à Montréal dans le but de saisir ce qui caractérise leur amateurisme. Une série d’entretiens de type récit de vie a été réalisée auprès de quinze amatrices de rap qui écoutent du rap de manière régulière et depuis plusieurs années. Plusieurs thématiques ont été explorés avec les amatrices, dont leur découverte du rap, leurs pratiques d’écoute actuelles et passées, leur rapport intime à la musique, leurs valeurs, leur identité ou encore leurs rapports et interactions avec les autres amateur.trice.s. J’ai pu observer que les femmes qui aiment le rap en écoutent majoritairement seules ou en petits groupes et qu’une partie importante d’entre elles ont été introduites à la culture hip-hop et au rap par le biais de leur grand frère. Les amatrices entretiennent un rapport intime à la musique et se servent de l’écoute du rap pour extérioriser leurs émotions. Le sentiment le plus souvent ressenti par les femmes lorsqu’elles écoutent du rap est l’empowerment. L’écoute du rap s’avère être positive pour les femmes et leur donne de la confiance et de la puissance. Cependant, les interactions sociales que les amatrices entretiennent avec les hommes amateurs de rap font état d’un phénomène de boys’ club qui touche aussi bien le groupe des amateur.trice.s que celui des autres acteur.trice.s de la scène rap montréalaise. Les points de vue et le travail des femmes sont souvent délégitimés ou minimisés par les acteurs du monde du rap. Ma recherche a également révélé la pertinence de l’intersectionnalité dans la compréhension des vécus et des points de vue des amatrices. En effet, l’inscription différenciée des amatrices dans les rapports sociaux de race et de classe segmente certaines des expériences qui caractérisent leur amateurisme, notamment en ce qui a trait à leurs représentations sociales. Les femmes noires et/ou racisées sont davantage conscientes des structures de domination et des dynamiques de pouvoir qui structurent les expériences des acteur.trice.s à l’intérieur du monde du rap au Québec que les femmes blanches. / This research focuses on the practices, values and representations of female francophone rap fans living in Montreal to understand what characterizes their amateurism. A series of life story interviews was conducted with fifteen female rap fans who have been listening to rap music regularly for several years. Several themes were explored with them, including their discovery of rap, their current and past listening practices, their intimate relationship with music, their values, their identity, and their relationships and interactions with other fans. I was able to observe that women who like rap music mostly listen to it alone or in small groups, and that a significant portion of them were introduced to hip-hop culture and rap music through their older brother. Female fans have an intimate relationship with music and listen to rap to express their emotions. The feeling that women most often experience when listening to rap music is empowerment. Listening to rap music is shown to be positive for women and gives them confidence and power. However, the social interactions that female fans have with male rap fans reveal a boys' club phenomenon that affects both the fan group and other players in the Montreal rap scene. Women's views and work are often delegitimized or minimized by the male actors of the rap world. My research also revealed the relevance of intersectionality in understanding the experiences and perspectives of female fans. Indeed, the differentiated inscription of female fans in social relations of race and class segments some of the experiences that characterize their amateurism, particularly regarding their social representations. Black and/or racialized women are more aware of the structures of domination and power dynamics that structure the experiences of actors within the Quebec rap scene than white women.