Anyone else feel a put off by the 'homphobia' in sport?

running the roads

Hi there's no current gay footballers or rugby players, none that we know of anyway, there's a real 'heternormativity' feel to the venue's and very male.

I like sport but frankly I am turned off by the maleness and and heterosexual maleness of the main team sports. I find it difficult to engage in discussion and to be a fan.

Anyway else feel simillar? or not?

Happy New Year

Davaeo09

Out or not there are plenty of gay men playing sports all over Ireland and world wide. Rugby, hurling, football, etc etc

Myself, I play football and most of my peers would know about it any way. Any bunch of lads worth playing a match once a week with or what ever will be understanding or just not give a f***.

Unless you are looking for some sort of special ribbon for being a gay guy who plays sports, most people don't look past the present which in this case would be a kick around or what ever

Fair enough I agree it is more difficult for high profile players to come out but I suspect that's just a discretion type thing. These people don't necessarily want nosey parkers interfering with the personal/private life, because sex and sexuality is just that, private and personal.

Lyaiera

It's not the same but Nigel Owens is one of the best if not the best rugby referee in the world and he's very open about his sexuality and the troubles it caused him. I was at a match he was ref'ing, someone yelled something homophobic at him and the crowd turned on the abuser letting him know he'd be politely escorted out if he said anything like that again. And Nigel is one of the most liked figures in the sport (at least around these parts.)

running the roads

So is the homophobia real or a matter of the top players being a bit anxious of saying so publicly?

Davaeo09

Why the need to say so publicly? I understand it would help ALLOT of young people who may be struggling with similar issues but why does it matter so much?

For allot of people being gay is just a minor factor of there lives, and speaking from my own point of view I do not see the need for every body to be aware of my sex life, and its not because I uncomfortable with it, it is purely because I just don't like people knowing my business, nor do I wanna know theirs :P

As for the homophobia in sport, we have already seen how rugby is already progressing and could be considered one of the more open minded sports. As for any abuse that fans of any sport might be inclined to spew, let that be a reflection on the type of people present at that moment and not as a reflection of the professionals attitude themselves. Fans tend to just pick the most stupid reasons to chant at opposition players, I am not saying it's right but lets call it ignorance and hooliganism as opposed to genuine hatred of gays.

Ambersky

It seems that people have a lot of different interpretations of what homophobia is so depending on how they see it posters will respond differently to the OP.

What can and what can not be called homophobia came up on RTE lately when Rory ONeill commented on some people being mean and horrible to gays on the internet and named some people when asked by the interviewer who he was talking about.

Rory ONeill
“Oh listen, the problem is with the word ‘homophobic’, people imagine that if you say “Oh he’s a homophobe” that he’s a horrible monster who goes around beating up gays you know that’s not the way it is. Homophobia can be very subtle. I mean it’s like the way you know racism is very subtle. I would say that every single person in the world is racist to some extent because that’s how we order the world in our minds. We group people. You know it’s just how our minds work so that’s okay but you need to be aware of your tendency towards racism and work against it.

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2014/01/16/wisdom-is-bliss/

Personally as well as agreeing with Rory I think homophobia can range from something very mild and general like an antipathy about LGBT people and issues, to wanting LGBT people to be happy but in the privacy of their own homes, being fine with gays just not any of my family, being fine with gays but not wanting them to go on about it, to institutional discrimination and full blown violence and many other stages in between.
Theres a wide range between out and out homophobia to full equality.
Full equality in any area is also expressed as a visible, social and professional inclusion of LGBT people on a par with their heterosexual peers.
One or two out gays doesnt make it equal.

baztard

running the roads wrote: »

Hi there's no current gay footballers or rugby players, none that we know of anyway, there's a real 'heternormativity' feel to the venue's and very male.

I like sport but frankly I am turned off by the maleness and and heterosexual maleness of the main team sports. I find it difficult to engage in discussion and to be a fan.

Anyway else feel simillar? or not?

Happy New Year

I don't feel similar. I'm big into sport, mostly as a fan these days but also as a participant to a lesser extent.

I am openly gay and played 5 a side soccer for a couple of years (not exactly la liga I know!) a short while back. None of the other players were bothered. I also practiced martial arts for a year and some of the other lads in the class knew I was gay. They never had a bother on them either. I haven't experienced homophobia in my admittedly limited participation in sport.

I'm a massive gaelic football fan and have been attending inter county matches for years. (10+ games per year in busy stadiums). I can't remember one instance of homophobia. I can't remember any homophobic chants or slurs being thrown at players. If I heard someone shout somethong like that i'd challenge them on it, but I can't say I've ever had reason to.

I don't feel my sexuality impacts in any way on my perception or participation in sport. I'll get involved in any discussion about sport in the same way any one else does. If someone has a problem with my being gay and having an interest in sport they can go fuk themselves

That said, I'm sure homophobia does exist in sport to a certain degree. And having an openly gay high profile sports star would definetly help to normalise the issue and eventually turn it into a non issue.

Dr. Shrike

I think we might have moved on with this issue more if it wasn't for Justin Fashanu. People paint him as a tragic martyr, but actually I think he failed other gay sportsmen by not choosing to stand and fight.

Also I agree that there is probably less homophobia than some people might expect at the grassroots level. I have this theory that in decades to come, traditionally masculine things like sports and the military will become pretty synonymous with being gay. So people like Sepp Blatter are just being ridiculously out of touch.

But as I've said before, homophobia will be a non-issue in sport when a famous footballer is caught having sex with a male underwear model, and it's only a big scandal because he's doing it behind his husbands back.

running the roads

As a transsexual I've also of late become conscious of the maleness of sports coverage. All the main team sports coverage are male teams. There's a few individual female sports stars but women's team sport get's little mention. I know the skill level of female sports is generally lower but I'm sure it could improve if encouraged and promoted. Just an observation, not a judgment.

Ambersky

There is a good documentary here on homophobia in Sport. It is British produced but does have input from Donol Og Cusack to give a bit about the Irish experience in part two. Martina Navratilova talks about homophobia in general and about how it affects women in sport.
I think it is quite well balanced with contributors talking both about how things have improved as well as how far there still is to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjU2FeU_3qI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDYOPXyXEaQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9QDiASNfc8

floggg

Dr. Shrike wrote: »

I think we might have moved on with this issue more if it wasn't for Justin Fashanu. People paint him as a tragic martyr, but actually I think he failed other gay sportsmen by not choosing to stand and fight.

Oh **** off.

Firstly, the implication that he took the easy or cowardly way out (rather than "choosing" to stand and fight) by committing suicide is just so wrong and offensive to so many people.

Secondly, to say he "failed" others suggests he had a duty to make a stand for them whatever the personal cost to himself.

He didn't. LGBT athletes who come out publicly do a great service for the visibility of LGBT athletes and people generally, but they aren't duty bound to do so.

No person should be required to become a role model or to hold themselves responsible for their community. When they choose to do so, they make sacrifices and they should be supported for their decision.

Justin Fashanau came out at a time when the world was still hostile to gay people, and received no thanks or support from the public at large, his team or his family.

The fact that it ended so tragically shows the toll it took on him.

The failures that occurred were the failure of the public, his family, his team, and the footballing authorities.

He didn't fail anybody and he certainly didn't take the easy way out.

Lyaiera

Ambersky wrote: »

Martina Navratilova talks about homophobia in general and about how it affects women in sport.

There's an interesting difference between homophobia in male parts of sport and homophobia in female parts of sport, with a lot of lesbophobia and misogyny directed at women in sports. People seeing sports as a manly pursuit and that there's almost a presumption that women in sports are going to be lesbians (with the implication they're less feminine.)