Conformity That Lead To Homophobia In Sports

As society progresses, homosexuality becomes more prevalent and people become more comfortable with the subject of sexuality. Homosexuality is something that has dated back to Greek times, but just in the past 50-100 years has become more common; not that homosexuality did not exist, just that more people are becoming more comfortable and coming out. Gay and Lesbian people are all around us, weather it be the work place, schools, and specifically athletics. Many coaches, players, and athletic directors are gay and are becoming aware of the double standard and homophobia that exists in the heterosexual world, most commonly at the collegiate and professional level.

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

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.

Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others. Racism occurs much more than we like to admit. In sports, racism is happening more often and becoming a much bigger problem. Most agree that sports are a reflection of society. What this means is that sports often act as a small-scale version of society and thus, racial problems in sports have been, and continue to be, brushed away as nothing unique. It takes outrageous conduct for the reality of racism in sports to come to the forefront. When comparing a minority athlete to a non-minority athlete, we can see they both are victims of discrimination because of their race. However, the type of discrimination is very different, and the effects are very different. To a lot of people, the sports world is a place in which none of the normal problems of the “real” world could possibly exist. Racism has had an impact on student athletes of all ages and race, in both their personal life and outside their personal life. The racism that some American minority and non-minority student athletes face has long-running effects on the athletes’ education and career opportunities. The racial issues in sports can be addressed better when exposed and talked about.

In my interview with Ryan, he said he never felt targeted but he did hint at the fact that at times the slurs could be excessive, he aimed responsibility of the needed culture change on the coaching staff. He spoke about the coaches on one of the teams he played for previously, who used slurs towards the opposing team, “Kinda shocked me, but I recognized it was a motivating factor”. Coaches in the sports are ones who need to step up to the plate and make the world of sports more comforting and help homosexuals feel less threatened. Most coaches have or at

Lee and Cunningham (2014), presented the first study that examined the effects of imagined contact applied in a sports context. On top of that, they added to the very few studies that have looked at imagined contact and/or the potential cross-cultural differences, within a sports context and outside of it. The researchers aimed to measure the relationship among sport-related imagined intergroup contact (with out-group-- gay man), intergroup anxiety, and sexual prejudice and how the relationships varied across cultures. The researchers present evidence supporting that contact and imagined contact can reduce prejudice and discrimination. They present good evidence to support their hypotheses. However, the Introduction and Method sections still

Discrimination in sport is not a new controversy, discrimination in all forms has been happening since the very beginning of physical activity and sport. Some forms of discrimination in sport include sexism, gender stereotyping, homophobia, and racism. All forms of discrimination affect everyone involved in sport, from athletes to coaches, spectators to owners. To fully comprehend the effects of discrimination in sport, we must understand the definition of discrimination. According to Oxford Dictionary, discrimination is defined as the "unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex" ("Definition of discrimination").

“It matter not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love” (John Lennon). LGBTQ; a growing cause that has been heard by many people across the globe, Gay marriage and equality is no longer just a farfetched idea but has become a reality for many nations across the world who have accepted and legalized the acceptance of LGBTQ community members within society. Some have accepted while other fought against this notion of legalization, though many citizens have come to terms with this new ideology that has been incorporated within modern society. Although members of the LGBTQ society and the thousands that accept the community have protested and gathered together to fight for the equality of all nations there is still some that do not agree with this notion. Protestors yelling, news reporters capturing the seen for people millions of miles away, and discrimination could be found at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games located in Sochi, Russia. This year’s Olympic Games were on the bounds of discrimination against the LGBTQ community not just from Russia’s own citizens but discrimination towards many visiting athletes from the 200 nations that participated in the games.

Throughout this assignment I will be placing myself in the position of a HR manager at both the UK and Russian Olympics and I will discuss possible issues that LGBT Olympians may face in such contexts. I will identify key challenges that I may face when introducing and implementing equality and diversity measures if the Olympic Games were to happen again today. I will approach such a task by first outlining the history and definitions associated with LGBT. I will frame this essay by drawing upon social and political changes through the enactment of laws and social movements, as well as empirical research, class-based discussions, and theories of equality and diversity.

In the world of sports, there have been incidents where conflict has occurred through the use of the homophobic slur. In England, a survey showed that by the signing in of an openly gay player, there was a possibility of a loss of “8% of football fans would stop supporting them.” This is a sign of the kind of abuse placed on gay rights. Failure to follow to the changing times in society has placed the LGBT community under high limitations in the sports field. In this situation, most of the individuals would prefer keeping their sexual preferences to themselves fearing marginalization from the community (Emma Kavanagh).

Men’s team sports are often associated with hegemonic (dominant) masculinity and hyper-heterosexuality. Connell (1987, 1995) provides an understanding of the problematic method

What stigma means? It is a strong feeling of objection and disapprobation from people to the athletes, especially if they failed. According to the study that was done by Simons Herbert D, Bosworth Corey, Fujita Scott, and Jensen Mark, a group of athletes said that they were treated in a bad way by their professors and non-athletes students and only a few of them were treated positively. Other group said that they were had a hard time from the faculty members if they ask to prepare for an athletic competitions, in addition to all the negative comments about the athletes in the classes such as they are not smart enough, decrease the academic level, and get opportunities and advantages which they do not deserve it. The study demonstrates that

2015 Still No openly gay male football players in premiership, several openly gay female footballers in ladies game. How can this issue change or affect sport

As discussed in lecture 7 Homophobia and Women's Sports “the traditional association of physical strength, power and athleticism with masculinity causes many people to question the sexuality of women athletes (page 2)” also it challenges the role of women in society if they are pursuing their career in sports or corporate sector which stereotypically belongs to males. Our society is stacked with the stereotypes about the role of women in the society. As an Indian, we are brought and educated up in a way which drive us to believe that women's role in the society is to extend the family and take the responsibility of household. We can scarcely imagine them in sports or corporate field. As a result, they constantly have to fight against

There are differences between what is considered to be prejudice and what discrimination is. Prejudice is identified as a typically negative attitude that is directed towards an individual 's social status, or group. Discrimination is reported as completing a negative act, or acts, towards a group, or individuals in a group, on the bias of the same reason or reasons. Given what is known, or inferred, about prejudice and discrimination, it can be related back to how LGBT associates are effected within athletic fields. Understanding the terminology, methods of research, development, and corrective/preventive procedures are well discussed in the field of Social Psychology.