Thursday, November 13, 2014

Is Sport a safe space for LGBT athletes?

According to Nation's author Sherry Wolf, sport culture does not just reflect the sexual biases of the time, but it also helps to shape those sexual biases. I think the "Jedi" side of sports and how it should be, is fair and inclusive. However, as of now, sports doesn't seem to be a space space for LGBT athletes. This might be the masculine nature of sport itself (relating to our discussion regarding gender). An example of sport's masculine emphasis is when players are told they should not "throw like a girl" or that they should "man up." At the time Wolf wrote her article "America's Deepest Closet" in 2011, it was noted that "not a single player in the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB" had declared himself to be LGBT, even though survey data indicated that a "degree of acceptance" existed in those leagues toward LGBT athletes (Wolf, 2011).

Now in 2014, Jason Collins and other professional athletes have come out and have discussed their sexual orientation publicly. The fact that it has taken so long just for one person to feel comfortable to come out shows that sports may not be as accepting and "safe" as it should be. Collins does discuss how he is blessed with family and friends that not only accept but also support his homosexuality, However, he also discusses things that kept him from coming out sooner, like being "loyal to the team" (Collins, 2013).  He did not want it to be a distraction to himself or the team. Some other barriers that may exist are the possible skewed perceptions that people around an LGBT athlete may have. For example, Collins mentions how he might have to be more "physical to prove that being gay doesn't make you soft." (However, based on his play in the NBA he clearly proves that he can compete just as aggressively as all the other heterosexual players out there.)

Based on our discussions that we have already had in class, it seems like many issues we discuss (race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic biases) are a result from differences between people, which then exist in a hierarchy that separates the different characteristics of people. Regarding LGBT athletes, it seems like sports that are "safer" for them to play or are more "accepting" are sports like dance, figure skating, cross country/track, badminton, volleyball, and tennis. Many of these sports share characteristics with sports that the class discussion decided were what society deemed "good" sports for women to play. This shows that being LGBT seems to equate to being less manly or more feminine. More "feminine" sports are typically individual or judged subjectively (gymnastics, dance, etc.). This is obviously not true, because LGBT athletes can be just as good at any sport as a "normal" heterosexual athlete. Judging someone's athletic ability by their sexual orientation is just as ridiculous as judging someone's athletic ability by their skin color.

I've never been afraid of or mean to the LGBT community, but I have to admit that before I came to college I was as aware of the issues that the community faced. It was not until after I became a student advisor that I learned that certain things we say or phrases we throw around are microaggressions that can be unsupportive towards the LGBT community (eg. calling someone a fag, not providing a unisex bathroom at events, etc.) I think being educated as part of my job forced me to think about what I say and be conscious of possible alternatives to use in my daily language (eg. unisex pronouns like "ze"). It is not guaranteed, but personally it helped when I was educated by the LGBT community.


Collins, Jason. (2013). Why NBA Center Jason Collins is Coming Out Now. Sports Illustrated.

Wolf, S. (2011). America's Deepest Closet. Nation, 293(7/8), 29-31.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with your college experience because it was similar to mine. Coming into college, I also was aware of the issues that were happening with the LGBT community, however I didn't know what was contributing to it. I'm glad you were able to be educated by the LGBT community, hopefully, I'll be more educated soon too.

    - Janise Qin

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  2. Deadline: 1/1
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    Solid post. You made a lot of great points about the issues athletes face and the changes that can be made.
    ~Brittainy

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