Sports as a risk environment: Homophobia and bullying in a sample of gay and heterosexual men

Abstract

Research on bullying and homophobic bullying has mainly focused on school contexts, with little research in sports-related contexts. This study used a sample of 88 gay males and 120 heterosexual males between 18 and 36 years of age to examine the frequency of bullying experiences in Italian sports-related contexts. The results showed that gay men reported more frequent bullying and homophobic bullying than heterosexual men. Gay men reported dropping out of sports more frequently, namely due to a fear of being bullied and greater familial pressure to conform to masculine-type sports. It is necessary to promote safer sports-related contexts for people who self-identify as a sexual minority.

Bullying Trends Inside Sport: When Organized Sport Does Not Attract but Intimidates

“…Similar trends are also recorded in other studies emphasizing that the social context plays a fundamental role in the dropout of the sports process (Sarrazin et al, 2002). Unfortunately, only a few studies link the athletes' dropout process to the existence of bullying in sport and analyze its causes (Baiocco et al, 2018).…”

El Bullying en el País Vasco: Prevalencia y Diferencias en Función del Sexo y la Orientación-Sexual

“…De este modo, la hipótesis 5 se cumple en su totalidad. Estos resultados apuntan en dirección similar a la señalada por otros estudios (Abreu y Kennym, 2017;Baiocco et al, 2018;Camodeca et al, 2018;COGAM, 2016;Elipe et al, 2017; Gegenfurtner y Gebhardt, 2017; Orue et al, 2018; Toomey y Russel, 2016), en los que se evidencia que el colectivo de personas no hetero Bullying en los Centros Escolares del País Vasco…”

“…El bullying es un fenómeno que afecta a toda la comunidad educativa. No obstante, diversos autores concluyen que el colectivo LGB (lesbianas, gais y bisexuales) es un colectivo más vulnerable a padecer victimización en comparación con las personas heterosexuales (Abreu y Kennym, 2017;Baiocco et al, 2018;Camodeca et al, 2018;COGAM, 2016;Elipe et al, 2017;Gegenfurtner y Gebhardt, 2017;Toomey y Russel, 2016). Del mismo modo, las personas que no tienen clara su orientación afectivo-sexual (Birkett et al, 2009) también muestran mayores niveles de victimización en comparación con sus iguales.…”

Sexual Prejudice in Sport Scale: A New Measure

“…Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measurement scale that aims to capture attitudes in heterosexual Italian athletes as well as in LG Italian athletes toward LG people in sports-related contexts. In fact, it may be a useful instrument for evaluating the Anderson's findings about the decline of homophobia in Italian sportrelated contexts, as well (Baiocco Pistella, Salvati, Ioverno, & Lucidi, 2018b). In addition, we hypothesized that men (Gill et al, 2006;Herek, 1988; in team sports (Anderson, 2000;Griffin, 1998) would show more negative attitudes toward LG athletes and coaches than would men in individual sports or all women athletes.…”

“…However, the moderate correlations between SPSS subscales and ATLG (Table 5) Finally, an element of originality of this paper has been to take into account the perspective of LG athletes. Interestingly, recent studies have indeed showed that even people belonging to sexual minorities have negative attitudes and hostile feelings both toward homosexuality in other persons and toward themselves as nonheterosexual people (Baiocco et al, 2018b;Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 2009;Herek, 2007;Lingiardi et al, 2012). This set of negative attitudes could be present also in sports-related contexts, which have been SEXUAL PREJUDICE IN SPORT SCALE conceptualized by some studies as a belief system that privileges heterosexuality and stigmatizes other sexual behaviors (Anderson, 2011;Cavalier, 2011;Eng, 2008;Hekma, 1998;Meyer, 2003), and consequently, LG people could internalize this cultural belief system through which homosexuality in sports is denigrated or discredited.…”