28 October 2011 ()
In our post analysis of the Rugby World Cup and the triumph of the All Blacks over the French, I think it timely to have a thought about us gays and our involvement (or lack of) in sport. It could be misconstrued but sport is likely the most homophobic institution.
It is commonly understood, and rightfully so, that this remarkable homophobia in sports is the primary reason there are so few out gay athletes. I think there must have been one or two amongst those 20 international Rugby teams? But there is a strange irony when it comes to male athletics and homophobia. While sports, especially team sports, tend to be extremely homophobic, they may also provide a sanctuary for gays. In fact, there may even be more gay boys on your average high school rugby team than in your average maths class. This is hard to prove, of course, especially when statistics seem to suggest just the opposite.
What’s keeping all these gay guys from coming out of the closet? Some would argue that this is an irrelevant question, that gays simply elect not to join team sports in the first place. And at one time researchers believed that, assuming that gay men didn’t play organised sports because they were too effeminate, too weak, or too scared. But in recent years, a few pro athletes have come out of the closet, and many more university and high school athletes have as well. These athletes are proving that gays can and do play sports, which begs the question, how many thousands of gay athletes are hiding behind closet doors?
We have people such as Gareth Thomas (Rugby, Rugby League) from Wales who swam against the current and came out and Blake Skjellerup (Speed Skater), who is a local Kiwi lad, making waves in the mainstream and gay communities, promoting his low tolerance of non-acceptance.
You might wonder just why a gay man would walk into the lion’s den. Why would a gay boy purposely seek out a homophobic environment like the world of sport? 
Given that gay men grow up in the same society that straight men do, a society that considers gay men [or effeminate men] to be somehow less of a man, gay men are often desperate to prove their masculinity, and usually to hide their sexuality. Even the gay community values masculinity over effeminacy, as witnessed by the fact that “straight-acting” gays are somehow considered a step higher on the status ladder than “effeminate acting” ones.
Most gay men, and virtually all closeted gay men, feel the need to prove their masculinity, and sports are a great avenue to do this. Sports can help gay men prove to themselves that they are every bit as good as straight men
Joining sports as a way of hiding your true sexual orientation, however, brings with it a strange paradox. Take, for example, the changing room, an extremely homoerotic place where gorgeous, athletic men change, shower and socialise together. There are very few environments where men will allow themselves to do this. Because everyone is aware of the uniqueness of the situation [and the potential for homoerotic desires to develop out of it], the expected behaviour in the changing room is pretty simple: act like you have no interest in the fact that everyone is half-naked.
And what better way is there to show that you have no interest in a room of half naked, athletic men than to act homophobic? Therefore, the homoeroticism of the changing room [in many ways] may cause.
The fear of being called weak, or being told that you run like a girl, or any suggestion that a boy is women-like, brings laughter from teammates and is supposed to motivate you to perform better. Males gain what I call “masculine points” by feminising other athletes. The supreme point gainer is, of course, to insult the masculine image of another athlete. To be called a fag, or to even have ones heterosexuality called into reference, is a major blow to the male ego.
Fortunately, homophobia in sport is finally being discussed. Sport sociologists are beginning to do research on the subject, and even the media are beginning to examine the issue, but the greatest deconstructor of homophobia in sports is likely to be individual gay athletes coming out of the changings.
It takes a confident and brave athlete to come out at any level. But it has been done before, and you can be accepted [and even admired], all while blazing the trail for others. As homophobia was constructed from the ground up, it may also be deconstructed.
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