TY - CHAP
T1 - English Football, Sexuality, and Homophobia
T2 - Gay Fans' Perspectives on Governance and Visibility
AU - Letts, David
AU - Magrath, Rory
PY - 2022/4/29
Y1 - 2022/4/29
N2 - Professional football (soccer) has typically been a hostile and volatile environment for sexual minorities. In recent years, however, a significant body of academic evidence has documented how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) people are becoming increasingly accepted in the football industry (e.g., Cashmore & Cleland, 2012; Cleland, 2015; Cleland, Magrath, & Kian, 2018; Magrath, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Magrath, Anderson, & Roberts, 2015). Problematically, however, this research has been largely restricted to the attitudes of ostensibly heterosexual male fans, and has thus, inadvertently, excluded the voices of the LGBT+ community. In this chapter, we address this void by presenting data collected in the first-ever academic research dedicated to the experiences of LGBT+ football fans. Specifically, we draw on semi-structured interviews with 35 openly gay male fans to address the role of the Football Association (FA) – English football’s governing body – as well as the clubs themselves, in tackling homophobia in football. Additionally, we also explore the effectiveness of the Rainbow Laces movement.
AB - Professional football (soccer) has typically been a hostile and volatile environment for sexual minorities. In recent years, however, a significant body of academic evidence has documented how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) people are becoming increasingly accepted in the football industry (e.g., Cashmore & Cleland, 2012; Cleland, 2015; Cleland, Magrath, & Kian, 2018; Magrath, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Magrath, Anderson, & Roberts, 2015). Problematically, however, this research has been largely restricted to the attitudes of ostensibly heterosexual male fans, and has thus, inadvertently, excluded the voices of the LGBT+ community. In this chapter, we address this void by presenting data collected in the first-ever academic research dedicated to the experiences of LGBT+ football fans. Specifically, we draw on semi-structured interviews with 35 openly gay male fans to address the role of the Football Association (FA) – English football’s governing body – as well as the clubs themselves, in tackling homophobia in football. Additionally, we also explore the effectiveness of the Rainbow Laces movement.
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/f2109375-5dfb-3d3f-94ca-ba0195ba5220/
U2 - 10.4324/9780429342189-20
DO - 10.4324/9780429342189-20
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9780367358310
T3 - Routledge International Handbooks
SP - 192
EP - 203
BT - Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom
A2 - Coombs, Danielle Sarver
A2 - Osborne, Anne C.
PB - Routledge
CY - Abingdon
ER -