Gender Roles and Homosexuality in Sports - 1796 Words

Gender Roles Homosexuality in Athletics As society progresses, homosexuality becomes more prevalent and people become more comfortable with the subject of sexuality. Homosexuality is something that has dated back to Greek times, but just in the past 50-100 years has become more common; not that homosexuality did not exist, just that more people are becoming more comfortable and coming out. Gay and Lesbian people are all around us, weather it be the work place, schools, and specifically athletics. Many coaches, players, and athletic directors are gay and are becoming aware of the double standard and homophobia that exists in the heterosexual world, most commonly at the collegiate and professional level. Homophobia is the†¦show more content†¦The advocate, an exclusively gay magazine ran a cover story entitled â€Å"Inside the NFL Closet†. It examined the masculine culture of the NFL and came to the conclusion that coming out while in the NFL is â€Å"Too impractical due to life on field and endorsements.â €  In contrast popular male athletes that are un-married or who don’t always have a girl on their arm have to defend their heterosexuality. For example, Cowboys ex- quarterback Troy Aikman was constantly questioned about his sexual preference due to the fact that he is un-married. Also MBL catcher Mike Piazza was constantly reference in the media as questionably homosexual, again just because he is not married. When magic Johnson spoke out to the press about his health and admitted to having HIV, he immediately stated that he is not gay, just because HIV is stereotyped as a homosexual disease. The consequences of coming out are immense. Firstly there is always the fear of alienation from one’s team, especially in men’s athletics. Males tend to have a more difficulty time accepting one’s homosexual because it threatens their own masculinity. Alienation often leads to separation of a team and separation of a team and coaching staff. As an openly gay coac h in college athletics is makes one’s job much more difficult. If a coach were to come out it would be a lot harder recruiting players, and getting parents to be okay with sending their child to a coaching staff that was openly gay.Show MoreRelatedGender, Discrimination, Harassment, And Discrimination1421 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction Homosexuality is defined as forming sexual relationships with members of the same sex (Blonna et al 2010), and for decades now, the societal attitudes towards homosexuality have varied, from casual integration through acceptance and then to repressing it through law enforcement and judicial mechanisms (Gregory 2004).. In recent years the concept of homosexuality has become a controversial topic amongst the sports community. 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