Sport and Sexuality: Athletic Participation by Sexual Minority and Sexual Majority Adolescents in the U.S.

Abstract

There are contradictory expectations regarding the relationship between sport and sexuality, one suggesting less sports participation for sexual minority males and more for sexual minority females, with the other hypothesizes no participation differences by sexuality for either males or females. I used the nationally representative Add Health Survey of middle and high school students in the U.S. to assess the degree to which sexual minority and sexual majority boys and girls play sports and the differences in the types of sports that they play. Findings from logistic regression analyses indicated there were very few differences in the degree and type of sports participation by sexuality, but somewhat larger differences as the adolescents move from middle to high school.

Physical violence and vulnerable adolescents: the roles of school climate and presence of similar peers

“…Unfortunately, the Add Health does not ask adolescent participants about their sexual identity. However, this survey has a number of measures that various scholars (e.g., Russell & Joyner, 2001;Pearson et al, 2007;Zipp, 2011) have relied on to assess respondents' sexuality. In this paper, we adopted the approach of Russell & Joyner (2001) whose definition of nonheterosexuality is derived from respondents' reports of same-sex romantic attractions and same-sex romantic relationships at Wave I of the Add Health.…”

Sexual Minority Status and Adolescent Eating Behaviors, Physical Activity, and Weight Status

“…For sexual minority males, behaviors consistent with parental expectations in this domain may be particularly challenging as they are more likely to be socially alienated in sports participation and be victimized in the gym or athletic fields. 14,22,23 Thus, sexual minority males may experience psychological distress by what their parents expect them to do and the fear of being excluded or victimized, leading to greater avoidance of vigorous physical activity.…”

“…20,21 Whether this holds for sexual minority adolescents is unclear. Sexual minority adolescents more frequently encounter barriers to participate in physical activities; 14,22,23 thus, parental expectations to engage in physical activities may be perceived more as a source of stress than of support. An improved understanding of whether parental and peer influences mitigate the association between sexual minority status and weight-related outcomes is needed to inform prevention and intervention efforts.…”

Masculinity, homosexuality and sport in an Islamic state of increasing homohysteria

“…unfortunately, researchers examining the issue have no conclusive evidence for any of the three hypotheses (Anderson, Magrath & Bullingham 2016), but we do know that in America, gay high school students are more likely to self-select out of macho sports (Zipp, 2011).…”