Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

LGBT Athletes, Changing Social Contexts, and the ‘Sports Media’

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
LGBT Athletes in the Sports Media

  • 2094 Accesses

Abstract

Introducing the edited collection, this chapter is structured into three main sections. First, I outline the role of the sports media, briefly outlining its historical roots, before then examining its centrality prominence and importance for contemporary sport—particularly at elite level. Second, I discuss the liberalizing of attitudes toward sexual minorities in the Western world, and how this has also reflected in sport in recent years—resulting in the increase of openly LGBT athletes. I then outline how the sports media are integral to the framing of LGBT athletes, arguing that they both reflect and facilitate this process. Finally, I provide some information about the edited collection, what the book examines, and a discussion of the organization of the book.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The Football Association (FA) is English football’s governing body. Formed in 1863, they are recognized as the oldest football association in the world.

  2. 2.

    The recommendations of the Wolfenden Report were implemented only in England and Wales. The law did not apply in Scotland until 1980, and Northern Ireland until 1982.

  3. 3.

    At the time of writing, same-sex marriage is legal in 27 countries across the world, with the Czech Republic being the most recent addition to this list in the summer of 2018.

  4. 4.

    The complete list of athletes can be found at: https://www.outsports.com/2016/7/11/12133594/rio-olympics-teams-2016-gay-lgbt-athletes-record

  5. 5.

    Kick It Out is widely recognized as English football’s most influential equality and diversity organization.

  6. 6.

    I note here that Tom Daley may now identify as a gay man. However, Daley’s refusal to identify under the LGBT acronym when he first made his announcement cast uncertainty as to his sexual orientation.

References

  • Adams, A., & Kavanagh, E. (2018). Inclusive ideologies and passive performances: Exploring masculinities and attitudes toward gay peers among boys in an elite youth football academy. Journal of Gender Studies, 27(93), 313–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (2002). Openly gay athletes: Contesting hegemonic masculinity in a homophobic environment. Gender and Society, 16(6), 860–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (2009). Inclusive masculinity: The changing nature of masculinities. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (2011). Updating the outcome: Gay athletes, straight teams, and coming out in educationally-based sport teams. Gender and Society, 25(2), 250–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., & Adams, A. (2011). “Aren’t we all a little bisexual?”: The recognition of bisexuality in an unlikely place. Journal of Bisexuality, 11(1), 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., & Bullingham, R. (2015). Openly lesbian team sport athletes in an era of decreasing homohysteria. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(6), 647–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., & McCormack, M. (2016). The changing dynamics of bisexual men’s lives. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., & Travers, E. (Eds.). (2017). Transgender athletes in competitive sport. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E., Magrath, R., & Bullingham, R. (2016). Out in sport: The experiences of openly gay and lesbian athletes in competitive sport. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, C. W. (2011). Coming out as homophobic: Isaiah Washington and and the Grey’s Anatomy scandal. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 8(1), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barret, R. L. (1993). The homosexual athlete. In L. Diamant (Ed.), Homosexual issues in the workplace (pp. 161–170). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, H., & Jönsson, A. (2017). Klick it out: Tackling online discrimination in football. In D. Kilvington & J. Price (Eds.), Sport and discrimination (pp. 203–214). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, A., & Blain, N. (Eds.). (2003). Sport, media, culture: Global and local dimensions. London: Frank Cass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billings, A. C., & Moscowitz, L. M. (2018). Playing out in the media: The coming out of gay athletes in American team sports. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billings, A. C., Moscowitz, L. M., Rae, C., & Brown-Devlin, N. (2015). The art of coming out: Traditional and social media frames surrounding the NBA’s Jason Collins. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 92(1), 142–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blinde, E. M., & Taub, D. E. (1992). Homophobia and women’s sport: The disempowerment of athletes. Sociological Focus, 25(2), 151–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, R., & Haynes, R. (2000). Power play: Sport, the media and popular culture. Edinburgh: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, R., & Haynes, R. (2004). Football in the new media age. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, R., & Haynes, R. (2009). Power play: Sport, the media and popular culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Burawoy, M. (2005). For public sociology. American Sociological Review, 70(1), 4–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buzinski, J. (2017). There aren’t any out gay male athletes in major professional sports [Online]. Retrieved December 5, 2017, from www.skynews.com

  • Cashmore, E., & Cleland, J. (2012). Fans, homophobia and masculinities in association football: Evidence of a more inclusive environment. British Journal of Sociology, 63(2), 370–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassidy, W. P. (2017a). Inching away from the toy department: Daily newspaper sports coverage of Jason Collins’ and Michael Sam’s coming out. Communication and Sport, 5(5), 534–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassidy, W. P. (2017b). Sports journalism and coming out stories. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cavender, G. (2017). Media constructions of athletics: Normalization and deviance. In S. E. Brown & O. Sefiha (Eds.), Routledge handbook on deviance (pp. 52–62). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chawansky, M., & Francombe, J. M. (2011). Cruising for Olivia: Lesbian celebrity and the cultural politics of coming out in sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 28(4), 461–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J. (2014). Association football and the representation of homosexuality by the print media: A case study of Anton Hysén. Journal of Homosexuality, 61(9), 1269–1287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J. (2015). Discussing homosexuality on association football fan message boards: A changing cultural context. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(2), 125–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J., Magrath, R., & Kian, E. (2018). The internet as a site of decreasing cultural homophobia in association football: An online response by fans to the coming out of Thomas Hitzlsperger. Men and Masculinities, 21(1), 91–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clements, B., & Field, C. D. (2014). Public opinion toward homosexuality and gay rights in Great Britain. Public Opinion Quarterly, 78(2), 523–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, G. B., & Pickett, A. C. (2018). Trans prejudice in sport: Difference from LGB prejudice, the influence of gender, and changes over time. Sex Roles, 78(3–4), 220–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dashper, K. (2017). Smiling assassins, brides-to-be and super mums: The importance of gender and celebrity in media framing of female athletes at the 2016 Olympic Games. Sport in Society (Online First).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deninger, D. (2012). Sports on television: The how and why behind what you see. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fink, J., Burton, L., Farrell, A., & Parker, H. (2012). Playing it out. Journal for the Study of Sport and Athletes in Education, 6(1), 83–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flores, A. R. (2015). Attitudes toward transgender rights: Perceived knowledge and secondary interpersonal contact. Politics, Groups and Identities, 3(3), 398–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup. (2018, May 22). In U.S., estimate of LGBT population rises to 4.5%. Retrieved from www.gallup.com

  • Gaston, L., Magrath, R., & Anderson, E. (2018). From hegemonic to inclusive masculinities in English professional football: Marking a cultural shift. Journal of Gender Studies, 27(3), 301–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldlust, J. (1987). Playing for keeps: Sport, the media and society. Melbourne: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, G. (1998). Strong women, deep closets: Lesbians and homophobia in sport. Leeds: Human Kinetics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halkitis, P. N., Green, K. A., & Wilson, L. (2004). Masculinity, body image, and sexual behavior in HIV-seropositive gay men: A two-phase behavioral investigation using the internet. International Journal of Men’s Health, 3(1), 27–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamdi, N., Lachheb, M., & Anderson, E. (2017). Masculinity, homosexuality and sport in an Islamic state of increasing homohysteria. Journal of Gender Studies, 26(6), 688–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, M., Kuehn, K. M., Jones, H., Genovese, J., & Balaji, M. (2009). Have you got game? Hegemonic masculinity and neo-homophobia in US newspaper sports columns. Communication, Culture and Critique, 2(2), 182–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hekma, G. (1998). “As long as they don’t make an issue of it…” Gay men and lesbians in organized sports in the Netherlands. Journal of Homosexuality, 35(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, A. (2015). Trans people: Poll reveals changing attitudes [Online]. Retrieved October 10, 2016, from www.skynews.com

  • ILGA. (2018). LGBTI equality and human rights in Europe and Central Asia. Available at: www.ilga-europe.org

  • Jhally, S. (1989). Cultural studies and the sports/media complex. Media, Sports and Society, 70–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keleher, A., & Smith, E. R. A. N. (2012). Growing support for gay and lesbian equality since 1990. Journal of Homosexuality, 59(9), 1307–1326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, E., & Hills, L. (2015). Sport, media and society. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kentish, B. (2016). Russia could ban FIFA 17 because it is ‘too gay’. The Independent. Retrieved from www.independent.co.uk. Accessed 15 Nov 2017.

  • Kian, E. M., & Anderson, E. (2009). John Amaechi: Changing the way sport reporters examing gay athletes. Journal of Homosexuality, 56(7), 799–818.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kian, E. M., Anderson, E., & Shipka, D. (2015). ‘I am happy to start the conversation’: Examining sport media framing of Jason Collins’ coming out and playing in the NBA. Sexualities, 18(5–6), 618–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kian, E. M., Anderson, E., Vincent, J., & Murray, R. (2015). Sport journalists’ views on gay men in sport, society and within sport media. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(8), 895–911.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilvington, D., & Price, J. (2017). Tackling social media abuse? Critically assessing English football’s response to online racism. Communication & Sport (Online First).

    Google Scholar 

  • Krane, V. (2001). We can be athletic and feminine, but do we want to? Challenging hegemonic femininity in women’s sport. Quest, 53(1), 115–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krane, V., & Barber, H. (2003). Lesbian experiences in sport: A social identity perspective. Quest, 55(4), 328–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lapchick, R. (2018, May 2). The 2018 Associated Press sports editors racial and gender report card. Retrieved from http://nebula.wsimg.com/e1801a8b96d97c40f57cf3bf7cd478a3?AccessKeyId=DAC3A56D8FB782449D2A&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

  • Lenskyj, H. J. (1986). Out of bounds: Women, sport and sexuality. Toronto: Women’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luisi, M. L. R., Luisi, T., & Geana, M. V. (2016). Homosexuality and the heartbeat of a locker room: An analysis of quotations in the context of hegemonic and inclusive masculinity theories. Journal of Homosexuality, 63(10), 1314–1338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, C. A. (2017). Insert name of openly gay hockey player here: Attitudes towards homosexuality among Canadian male major midget AAA ice hockey players. Sociology of Sport Journal (Online First).

    Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R. (2017a). Inclusive masculinities in contemporary football: Men in the beautiful game. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R. (2017b). The intersection of race, religion and homophobia in British football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 52(4), 411–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R. (2017c). ‘To try and gain an advantage for my team’: Homophobic and homosexually themed chanting among English football fans. Sociology (Online First).

    Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R. (2017d). Media accounts of the first transgender person to work in the English Premier League. In E. Anderson & A. Travers (Eds.), Transgender athletes in competitive sport (pp. 116–128). London: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R. (2018). Media review: Gareth Thomas: Hate in the beautiful game, BBC Wales, 2017: A response in defence of professional football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 53(2), 250–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R., & Anderson, E. (2017). Football, homosexuality and the English Premier League. In R. Elliott (Ed.), The English Premier League: A socio-cultural analysis (pp. 150–164). London: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R., & Stott, P. (2018). ‘Impossible to implement?’ The effectiveness of anti-homophobia policy in English professional football. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics (Online First).

    Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R., Anderson, E., & Roberts, S. (2015). On the doorstep of equality: Attitudes toward gay athletes among academy-level footballers. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(7), 804–821.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magrath, R., Cleland, J., & Anderson, E. (2017). Bisexual erasure in the British print media: Representation of Tom Daley’s coming out. Journal of Bisexuality, 17(3), 300–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, J. A. (1991). The media-sport production complex: The case of American football in Western European societies. European Journal of Communication, 6(3), 315–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, J. A. (1999). Global sport: Identities, societies, civilizations. London: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinson, J. (2016). Only 1.8% of sport articles are written by women – So much for progress. The Guardian. Retrieved from www.theguardian.co.uk. Accessed 12 July 2018.

  • McCormack, M., & Anderson, E. (2014). Homohysteria: Definitions, context and intersectionality. Sex Roles, 71(3–4), 152–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millward, P. (2011). The global football league: Transnational networks, social movements in sport in the new media age. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, D., & Givens, N. (2007). An epitaph to Section 28? Telling tales out of school about changes and challenges to discourses of sexuality. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 20(4), 449–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, A. T., & Herek, G. M. (2013). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward transgender people: Findings from a national probability sample of US adults. Sex Roles, 68(11–12), 738–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, P. M., Laucella, P. C., Miloch, K. S., & Fielding, L. W. (2007). The juxtaposition of sport and communication: Defining the field of sport and communication. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2(3), 193–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pegoraro, A. (2010). Look who’s talking—Athletes on Twitter: A case study. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3(4), 501–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, G. T. (2011). Clubbing masculinities: Gender shifts in gay men’s dance floor choreographies. Journal of Homosexuality, 58(5), 608–625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pew. (2017). Gay marriage around the world [Online]. Retrieved December 6, 2017, from www.pewforum.org

  • Pieper, L. P. (2015). Mike Penner ‘or’ Christine Daniels: The US media and the fractured representation of a transgender sportswriter. Sport in Society, 18(2), 186–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plymire, D. C., & Forman, P. J. (2000). Breaking the silence: Lesbian fans, the internet, and the sexual politics of women’s sport. International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies, 5(2), 141–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plymire, D. C., & Forman, P. J. (2001). Speaking of Cheryl Miller: Interrogating the lesbian taboo on a women’s basketball newsgroup. NWSA Journal, 12(1), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pronger, B. (1990). The arena of masculinity: Sports, homosexuality, and the meaning of sex. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raney, A. A., & Bryant, J. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of sports and media. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Real, M. (2011). Theorizing the sports-television dream marraige. Why sports fit television so well. In A. C. Billings (Ed.), Sports media: Transformation, integration, consumption (pp. 19–39). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riordan, J., & Jinxia, D. (1996). Chinese women and sport: Success, sexuality and suspicion. The China Quarterly, 145, 130–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, S., Anderson, E., & Magrath, R. (2017). Continuity, change and complexity in the performance of masculinity among elite young footballers in England. The British Journal of Sociology, 68(2), 336–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, N. S. (2017). #FIFAputos: A Twitter textual analysis over ‘Puto’ at the 2014 World Cup. Communication and Sport, 5(6), 712–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, D. (2011). Global media sport: Flows, forms and futures. New York: Bloomsbury.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schallhorn, C., & Hempel, A. (2017). Media coverage of Thomas Hitzlsperger’s coming-out in German newspapers. Journalism Studies, 18(9), 1187–1205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverstein, C. (2009). The implications of removing homosexuality from the DSM as a mental disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(2), 161–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. W., Son, J., & Kim, J. (2014). Public attitudes towards homosexuality and gay rights across time and countries. Chicago: NORC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoelting, S. (2011). Disclosure as an interaction: Why lesbian athletes disclose their sexual identities in intercollegiate sport. Journal of Homosexuality, 58(9), 1187–1210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swales, K., & Taylor, E. A. (2017). British Social Attitudes Survey 34: Moral issues: Sex, gender identity and euthanasia. London: NatCen Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson, A. (2017). Twenty-eight Olympic summers: Historical and methodological reflections on understanding the Olympic mega-event. In L. A. Wenner & A. C. Billings (Eds.), Sport, media and mega-events (pp. 51–68). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Travers, A. (2018). How trans kids (and their parents) are creating a gender revolution. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Travers, A., & Deri, J. (2011). Transgender inclusion and the changing face of lesbian softball leagues. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 46(4), 488–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., Sherman, R. A., & Wells, B. E. (2016). Changes in American adults’ reported same-sex sexual experiences and attitudes, 1973–2014. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(7), 1713–1730.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vilanova, A., Soler, S., & Anderson, E. (2018). Examining the experiences of the first openly gay male team sport athlete in Spain. International Review for the Sociology of Sport (Online First).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vincent, J., & Crossman, J. (2008). Champions, a celebrity crossover, and a capitulator: The construction of gender in broadsheet newspapers’ narratives about selected competitors during ‘The Championships’. International Journal of Sport Communication, 1(1), 78–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellard, I. (2002). Men, sport, body performance and the maintenance of “exclusive masculinity”. Leisure Studies, 21(3–4), 235–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenner, L. A. (Ed.). (1998). MediaSport. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenner, L., & Billings, A. C. (Eds.). (2017). Sport, media and mega-events. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whannel, G. (2005). Media sports stars: Masculinities and moralities. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf-Wendel, L., Toma, D., & Morphew, C. (2001). How much difference is too much difference? Perceptions of gay men and lesbians in intercollegiate athletics. Journal of College Student Development, 42(5), 465–479.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Solent University, Southampton, UK

    Rory Magrath

Authors
  1. Rory Magrath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rory Magrath .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Solent University, Southampton, UK

    Rory Magrath

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Magrath, R. (2019). LGBT Athletes, Changing Social Contexts, and the ‘Sports Media’. In: Magrath, R. (eds) LGBT Athletes in the Sports Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00804-8_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00804-8_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00803-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00804-8

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation