Inclusion of Queers in Professional Sports

Continuing to brain wash the young men today with the “sports is a mans world” mentality only helps to repeat the cycle of nearly oppressing women in the industry. It keeps men feeling secure when it comes to their masculinity, yet making a woman’s fight for respect a never ending struggle.

Football is probably the most hyper masculine sports someone can be involved in. However, just Michael Sam’s being out is so helpful in taking apart the ignorance around homophobic stereotypes. It goes to show, a broader aspect

According to Heather Skyes in her article “Transsexual and Transgender Policies in Sport”, the vast variety of genders that make up our society today including transsexuals and transgender are still not accepted into the world of sports due to anxieties from large sporting organizations. In our culture, there is a ‘binary structure’ which separates male from female. When a person is transsexual or transgender, the binary structure becomes challenged. There are so many exceptions to the binary structure, that it becomes nearly impossible to universalize “gender inclusive policies”. These individuals increase the ‘anxieties’ that Skyes suggests sporting organizations have, because transsexual and transgender people do not fit the norm.

Sports have always been effective in challenging the oppression of minorities by showcasing their talents and abilities and not dwelling on their differences. If a gay athlete is able to perform as well as straight athlete then the two are equal. Minorities face major amounts of inequality, however sports is one the few areas that minorities are offered equal footing.As well as being a tool for ending racial conflicts, it is also an influential stage that can encourage its audience to view the world through a different lens.Sports can be a very powerful avenue for change in society because of the number of viewers. Thus it is very common and effective platform to spread a positive and core message that not only has the potential to reach millions but also to change society. Sports are a reflection of a societies strengths and weaknesses. In Jackie Robison case, the racial prejudice and discrimination towards him was the reflections of the weaknesses in society at the

Homosexuality has nothing to do with whether or not one is a proficient athlete. However, due to predisposed perceptions of what it is to be an athlete and what it is to be homosexual, the words homosexual athlete and the athlete himself are not always met with the warmest of regards. The reason for this dissonance can be somewhat explained through the Role Congruity Theory. Role congruity is the social phenomenon that an individual is perceived more positively when their actions and behaviors are consistent with their gender (Lanter 2008). When action and gender are perceived to be inconsistent the perceptive party feels dissonance, which is can be displayed in a variety of ways ranging from avoidance to disgust or even anger. Athletes are big and strong, they are the men that the women swoon over and the men wish to be. Athletes are considered to be the ideal picture of what it means to society to be a man. When an athlete comes out as gay, especially a male athlete, it skews the entire picture for some; leaving them lost and questioning what exactly it means to be a man based on their learned societal constructs.

The Diversity in Sport Leadership discussion on Thursday, run by Wura, was a fascinating conversation. We got to listen to Wura ask Nicole Melton, Dr. Burton, and Fleurette King some questions about the topic, and then we got to ask the panel questions of our own. The topic of diversity in sport leadership is a complicated one, but I thought that they each had some valuable viewpoints on the matter. Fleurette King talked about how sports can be an access point for diversity, which can break resistance from society. An example of this would be the effect that Jackie Robinson playing in the MLB had on our society. But also, she noted that sports can also perpetuate societal issues, as with the issues of athletes using gay slurs during games. She also noted that concerning the Rooney Rule

Homosexuality has nothing to do with whether or not one is a proficient athlete. However, due to the perception of what it is to be an athlete and what it is to be homosexual, the words homosexual athlete, and the athlete himself are not always met with the warmest of regards. The reason for this dissonance can be somewhat explained through the Role Congruity Theory. Role congruity is the social phenomenon that an individual is perceived more positively when their actions and behaviors are consistent with their gender (Lanter 2008). When action and gender are perceived to be inconsistent the perceptive party feels dissonance, which is can be displayed in a variety of ways ranging from avoidance to disgust or even anger. Athletes are big and strong, they are the men that the women swoon over and that men wish to be; they are considered to be the ideal picture of what it means in society to be a man. When an athlete comes out as gay, especially a male athlete, it skews the entire picture for some; leaving them lost and questioning what exactly it means to be a man based on their learned societal constructs.

The first article I read, titled “Pro Sports, still homophobic in 2014”, was about how there is still a lot of homophobia in professional sports even in this day and age. The author, Hudson Taylor, discusses different controversies that happened within the professional sports community that range from alleged gay accusations toward Green Bay Packers quarterback all the way to statements made by Vikings assistant coach encouraging the idea of placing all gays on an island and nuking the island until it glows. Taylor discusses how when he was in high school he was part of the group that felt strongly against those that made fun of the gay community but did nothing about it because he felt as if it wasn’t his place nor his battle. He told how in college his world changed completely once he witnessed how accepting his theater friends were to people with different sexual orientations and how he ultimately found his voice and started speaking out. Because of that experience, Taylor is now the founder of a program called Athlete Ally, where he travels the world empowering the athletic community to stand up against homophobia in sports.

There have been copious amounts of players that have come out after they retired, such as Kwame Harris and Dave Kopay, but never has there been a player courageous enough to disclose his homosexuality prior to being drafted (Russo). Nevertheless, in February of this year, Michael Sam announced to the world that he is an “openly, proud, gay man” (Russo). His decision to share his secret with the world has had a major impact on opening doors for gay African-Americans (Gregory “Be Smart NFL”) and bringing about a change in the NFL by erasing stereotypes. For example, he is

Latinos have managed to make a profound impact in the field of American sports. Their interest in sports helped them assimilate themselves into American mainstream culture. They were also able to maintain their entire families’ ethnic identity at the same time. Since they had limited economic opportunities and had to face racial discrimination they were able to use sports as a refuge from the grim realities of the society. They used the field of sports to negotiate race relations, nationalism and citizenship. Sport was an arena that they could use to learn how to behave according to societal gender norms. Even for female athletes sports arenas provided the space to achieve gender equality, something that could never be achieved outside the field of sports (Alamillo, n.d).

These are shocking statistics, when asking Ryan about his comfort level with his team he said, “It was okay, I never felt physically threatened...”. He did say, however, that he did never feel quite like a part of the team due to his sexuality. Another aspect of homophobia affecting gays in sports is the homophobic slurs used in the locker room and on the field, granted, Ryan said that even in day to day life he never felt harmed or hurt by homophobic slurs. However, it is still a major problem in sports. 89 percent of homosexuals heard or felt targeted by homosexual slurs, according to the study. In my interview with Ryan I asked him if the culture of the locker room needed to be the first aspect to change, he said “Absolutely, sometimes it has to start from within a team and then that positive and encouraging attitude can go on to others.”

My first experience with discrimination in the terms of stereotyping and categorizing in the sports world came when I was a young child. During my adolescent years, I was a very active child. I participated in different sports from cheerleading, tennis, and basketball. As a child, I loved participating in sport teams and having the camaraderie of a team that loved, supported, and played for one another. However, that camaraderie and support that I once received during my time playing sports came to an abrupt halt during a change in my life and my health.

Race, gender, history and sexual orientation play major roles in women's participation in sport. Through out the history of women in sport, opportunity has increased. Many athletes and coaches are presented with the issue of sexual orientation throughout their sporting career. Regardless of sexual orientation, all female athletes are affected by heterosexism. One's racial or ethnicity background greatly shapes the experience they may have in sport. This essay explores the many issues women in sport face today.

Whether a man or woman, being openly part of the LGBTQ community as an athlete is difficult because there is so much at stake as a result of society’s heteronormative way of thinking. Kristen Schilt from the University of Chicago argues that, “Responses to perceived failures to fulfill gender criteria …accomplish the policing of supposedly natural gender boundaries to repair breaches to heteronormativity.”. With this said, it seems as though we as a society need to break away from the norms set in place because

Sports today are played by both males and females. Yet, female athletes that are homosexual are rarely talked about compared to male athletes that are homosexual. Rather than being a surprise, lesbian females announcing or even just stating that they are gay is expected. However, whenever a male athlete comes out as being homosexual, it makes all news headlines and is talked about for weeks. In today’s society men are raised to think they have to prove their masculinity, and one big part about being masculine is being heterosexual. Men that do not live up to this ideal masculinity are considered gay. Anywhere from having a high pitched voice to the flamboyancy of the man’s attire send signals that he is gay. Being gay is already a hardship