Thread by @miedenez, [THREAD: DISPARITIES BETWEEN LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IN MEN’S AND WOMEN’S FOOTBALL] There was [...]

[THREAD: DISPARITIES BETWEEN LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IN MEN’S AND WOMEN’S FOOTBALL]

There was not enough information about why there is such a disparity. However, I did find some things as to why these disparities might exist. They include culture, acceptance, and family environment within the different clubs.

Women's football is more accepting to players who identify within the LGBTQ+ community.

Eric Najib of Stonewall F.C., a very friendly football club for LGBTQ+ players, says that "The women's game has a more open-atmosphere at matches, it's more family-oriented."

Another reason why there might be more openly gay players is because it gets less coverage than the male's game. That means that there is also less attention put on them to be someone that they might not be.

Since female footballers do not nearly make as much as male players, often times they have part-time jobs on the side to sustain themselves.

They bring in their private lives into the game itself, including sexuality.

The male game is seen as very "heteronormative", players are worried about reactions from fans as some live in countries where homosexuality is either, not welcomed or illegal.

This ties in with the fact that major tournaments such as the World Cup and Euros are held in countries, where this is unacceptable.

Even though in women's football, there are countries who participate in these tournaments where it would be frowned upon as well.

As seen in 2019, in the latest Women's World Cup indicated that you can be part of the LGBTQ+ community and excel in your sport. At the competition there were at least 41 openly gay or bisexual women.

Alisha Lehmann, player of West Ham United, says that, "In women's football, it's perfectly normal for people to come out. It doesn't change anything." Meaning that sexuality does not matter in the sport, just if you're good at it or not.

However, Dr. Rory Magrat suggests that if a male player were to come out, fans would react positively. There is a lot of pressure, that would arise from this however, as Lianne Sanderson says. Sanderson was the first English women's footballer to come out.

There is a lot of media coverage in Britain, which suggest why there is such a lack of openly gay male players.

Obviously, in the men's game finances are way higher than the women's game which might also lead to a suggestion of why there is such a disparity.

No male player obviously has to 'come out', and it is likely that it will not happen due to the hostile social environment and personal issues.

Not only is this at the professional level but also in a school environment, as a report from the Human Rights Campaign, shows that only 24% of LGBTQ youth say they play a sport in comparison to 68% of all youth.

The players rely on off-pitch activities to protect and expect homosexuality in any circumstance. As said before, this is just merely of what I got from researching it. No clear cut answers but some which include environment, finances, bonds, and exposure.

The sources I used to gain more information:

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/if-mens-football-is-to-be-lgbt-inclusive-it-must-watch-and-learn-from-the-womens-game-389686, https://www.itv.com/news/2019-07-07/womens-world-cup-why-are-more-female-professional-footballers-gay-or-bisexual-than-their-male-counterparts, https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/dont-walk-around-training-ground-holding-hands-ex-england/16k0k0w4007081qw5psdxzl3dl,
https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/news/ucfb-news-hub/in-focus-why-are-gay-women-over-represented-in-football/, and https://sportmob.com/en/article/761623-homosexual-female-players-in-football-history

If men's football is to be LGBT inclusive, it must learn from the women's game

Women's football has integrated LGBT role models from the grassroots up

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/if-mens-football-is-to-be-lgbt-inclusive-it-must-watch-and-learn-from-the-womens-game-389686

Latest Threads Unrolled: