Football teams are now more gay friendly, according to University of Bath research
Last updated 11/14/2011 11:42:57 AM
Football teams are now more gay friendly
Colourful boots on the football pitch could symbolise a new attitude towards sexuality in team sport, a university study suggests.
Traditional masculine environments, such as football teams, are now markedly gay-friendly compared with attitudes just two decades ago, the University of Bath research concludes.
PhD researcher Adi Adams studied both English football teams and American soccer teams to find how heterosexual university-age players perceived gay men.
Adi spent two weeks with an American soccer team, training and socialising with them. He found that team members were in support of gay marriage, reported friendships with gay men and were comfortable hugging each other, as well as offering open emotional support to team mates. Changes in attitude were typified by one American player Adi witnessed wearing new bright pink soccer boots (cleats) without homophobic judgement from teammates.
"There was a time when only black boots were acceptable and wearing coloured boots was identified as unmasculine, feminine and potentially indicative of homosexuality," said Adi. "Now there is a wider range and a greater appreciation of clothing styles among the players which is a good indicator about changing attitudes. "Of course, it's not a utopia and some stereotypes are retained even among pro-gay men, but it tends to be the older coaches, stamped with the homophobia of their own generation, who police younger men's deviation from traditional scripts of masculinity."
Adi said these changes in attitudes are not only evident among university age men but also in boys in secondary and sixth form education. This is part of his ongoing PhD research in which he is exploring themes of masculinity among the youth players of professional football clubs.
He said: "The styles of masculinity these boys and men enact are more relaxed, liberal and inclusive, they are well styled, well groomed, gay friendly, and they are emotionally and physically close to other males. They are far removed from the traditional conservative sporting masculinities of previous generations."