Understanding the experiences of LGBT athletes in sport: A multilevel model.

Abstract

Two examples from February 2017 illustrate the equivocal state of affairs for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes in sport. 1 The first occurred in Cypress, Texas, where Mack Beggs won the 110-pound division of the Class 6A wrestling championship (Floreck, 2017). Although winning a state title is noteworthy in itself, what made this achievement particularly striking is that Beggs is a transgender boy, meaning he was assigned the sex of female at birth but his gender identity and gender expression are that of a boy. At the time of the event, Beggs was taking testosterone as part of the transition process. His testosterone treatment was permitted under University Interscholastic League rules, which offer a provision that students are permitted to take steroids so long as they are "dispensed, prescribed, delivered and administered by a medical practitioner for a valid medical purpose" (as cited in Floreck, 2017). Beggs' s transition comes under this valid medical purpose. Further, although Beggs preferred to compete against other boys, University Inter scholastic League rules stipulate that athletes must participate in sports based on their sex assigned at birth (Buzuvis, 2011). Thus, although Beggs identified as a boy, preferred to compete against boys, and was taking testosterone to transition, he was required by state guidelines to compete against girls. The wrestling meet and Beggs' s accomplishments occurred against the backdrop of a lawsuit brought by a competing school' s wrestling coach, who was seeking to prohibit Beggs from participating.The same month, Braden Holtby, of the National Hockey League' s Washington Capitals ice hockey team, wore a You Can Play-themed goalie mask. You Can Play is an organization whose mission is to create a sport environment that is safe, respectful, and inclusive of all persons, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity (see http://www.youcanplayproject.org). The organization partnered with the National Hockey League in 2013 to begin promoting an LGBT-inclusive space for all athletes seeking to play hockey. In February 2017, the National Hockey League promoted the slogan "Hockey is for Everyone" as a way of promoting diversity and inclusion in the sport. As part of those efforts, the Capitals engaged in several LGBTinclusive activities, including Holtby' s wearing of the equality-themed mask and several other players using rainbow-colored Pride Tape on their sticks during a practice. The helmet and the sticks were then signed and auctioned to raise money for You Can Play (Gulitti, 2017). 1 The terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) commonly are considered together. According to the American Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx), lesbians are women who have emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions toward other women. Gay men have emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions toward other men. Bisexual refers to women or men who have emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions toward both w...

The Relationship Between ‘Coming Out’ as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual and Experiences of Homophobic Behaviour in Youth Team Sports

“…Male sports, particularly contact ball sports like rugby or American football, have been found to have highly masculine cultural milieu where individuals (e.g. gay people) who do not conform to traditional gender roles and norms are rejected and denigrated (Cunningham, 2019;Greenspan et al, 2019a;Osborne & Wagner, 2007;Steinfeldt et al, 2012).…”

“It Was My Story to Tell and I Wasn’t Ready to Tell It”: Stigma Management Amongst LGBTQ+ Sport Officials

“…In their study of 2,663 football fans in the United Kingdom, Cleland et al (2021) found that homophobic language is less prolific than in the past; still, more than 75% of study participants reported hearing homosexual-themed language that many defined as toxic or hostile. These findings are perhaps unsurprising, given the high profile of homophobic behaviors by spectators (Kian et al, 2011;Magrath, 2018;Velez & Piedra, 2020) and the negative experiences many LGBTQ+ athletes have at all levels of sport (Beemyn & Rankin, 2011;Cunningham, 2019;Krane, 2016).…”

Experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in sports in Germany

“…To understand homo-and transnegative attitudes and actions towards LGBTQ+ athletes and the respective experiences and feelings of the targeted individuals, Cunningham's (2019) multilevel model and Meyer's (2003) model of minority stress offer useful analytical frameworks. Both authors utilized sociological and social psychological theories regarding inclusion/exclusion and conflicts that arise when minority groups are not adequately acknowledged and are marginalized in dominant cultures.…”

“…Both authors utilized sociological and social psychological theories regarding inclusion/exclusion and conflicts that arise when minority groups are not adequately acknowledged and are marginalized in dominant cultures. Cunningham (2019) identified three levels that reflect attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people and have an impact on the experiences of these individuals in general and in sports in particular: the macro level (e.g., laws and cultural norms), the meso level (e.g., organizational culture), and the micro level (e.g., individual identity and interaction).…”

“…A closer look at the individual level reveals the heterogeneity within this community and the necessity of considering the individual LGBTQ+ status in order to reveal diverse vulnerabilities (Fink, 2008). From another perspective, there is evidence that demographics and (salient) identities play a role with regard to homo-/ transnegative attitudes; in particular, Bush, Anderson, & Carr (2012) identified how males and athletes who closely identify with competitive sports culture express more sexual prejudice than athletes with a weaker athletic identity.…”