Is gby as gay as looks? A CURUFC player’s perspective | Varsy

Contents:

• IS GBY AS GAY AS LOOKS? A CURUFC PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT AFTER MANLY'S PRI JERSEY SAGA
• MY ADVICE TO GAY FOOTBALLERS: DON'T E OUT OF THE CLOSET
• LIVERPOOL GAY BARS

IS GBY AS GAY AS LOOKS? A CURUFC PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE

The Rugby Unn team provis a safe and welg space for gay, bisexual, straight and trans men; our newly-lnched O2 Touch Rugby team wel players of all genrs to a social sport whout the full-ntact of gby unn. Wh lots of new Gay & Inclive Rugby Clubs settg up across the globe each year, ’s more and more likely that you live close enough to one to get volved wh and enjoy all kds of gby – regardls of your genr, sexualy, ethnicy, relign, size or gby the Map Search below or scroll through the Global Club Listgs lower down this page to fd an IGR club. Comments like this don’t make someone homophobic, but they do pat an image of an unwelg environment, which n make very timidatg to e out to people – particularly if those around you are olr (and bigger).

I thk ’s a shame that flippant ments like this give the imprsn that gby is not a sport for all sexuali bee, while may seem disuragg om the outsi, homophobia, om my experience, is not particularly apparent a team. We are a member of Lanshire RFU and a full member of IGR (Internatnal Gay Rugby) Men's Unn team provis a safe and welg space for gay, bisexual, straight and trans men and our Touch Rugby team wel players of all genrs to a social sport whout the full-ntact of gby unn.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

In this article, we’ll name ten of the most notable gay gby personali, analyze their acplishments, discs how they are shapg the game today, and asss their impact on the overall perceptn of homosexual profsnal athlet around the world. A gay gby league player is g out of retirement as a prott agast the seven Manly Sea Eagl players who boytted their club's pri Hirst, who slammed the seven players at the time of the saga, has cid the bt way to tick to them is by lacg up the boots once aga to give the LGBTQIA+ muny visibily on the sportg Manly Sea Eagl ma headl across the world last week after releasg their 'Everyone League' jersey – unfortunately, though, wasn't for the right was meant to be a posive move to drive clivy soon turned sour when several players threatened to boytt their next game after refg to wear the club’s rabow Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolut Koula and Toafofoa Sipley were named as the players qutn and subsequently missed their next fixture after beg stood down on relig entire oral didn't pated anyone volved a particularly pleasant light wh both the players and the club self fdg themselv unr, who me out as gay 2015 durg his time the UK Super League, was one of the many people who nmned the actns of the the former Wakefield player has cid to rpond to the boytt by g out of retirement. "Cred: Supplied/NRLWhen news first broke of the boyttg players, Hirst was quick to ll them out on social media, claimg he's seen thgs sports changg rooms that would be emed 'much gayer' than simply wearg a rabow shirt..

The Manchter Village Spartans, however, have a much longer history and are one of the olst clive gay teams the world, havg formed the late 90s by a group of guys g a grant to get more gay men volved sport. Every year July, thoands of people - lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, bary and alli - e to Liverpool cy centre to spend two days a wonl, rabow flag-ftooned celebratn of all beg ee to live our liv as ourselv.

It is easy to believe over that weekend that equaly has been achieved, that homophobia has been vanquished and that nobody is beg judged, bullied or discrimated agast bee of their sexualy. Ahead of Liverpool Pri this weekend, the ECHO is celebratg the achievements of the cy's lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people this list of 59 spiratnal LGBTQ people workg hard to make real change throughout the other 363 days of the year.

GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT AFTER MANLY'S PRI JERSEY SAGA

As velopment director for Homotopia she produced the April Ashley exhibn wh the Mm of Liverpool, and was prevly velopment director at Stonewall, the anisatn that mpaigns for the equaly of lbian, gay, bi and trans people across Bra. The ial premise was for "Fairi across the Mersey" to gather together and jo the natnal 5-a-si tournaments, promotg health and fns and providg a social group for gay and bisexual football supporters and players and around the Liverpool area.

Char is the head of Homotopia, the UK's longt nng LGBTQ+ arts and cultural ftival, where she has been the role of terim director sce January and, prr to that, for two years as ftival manager. He has also raised LGBT issu Parliament - cludg highlightg the ncerng 'gay cure' therapi beg offered at one church his nstuency that were brought to light after an unrver vtigatn by former ECHO reporter Josh Parry.

She joed News From Nowhere around 1988 and the shop’s polics spired her to embark on many mpaigns, cludg protts agast Clse 28 which banned the "promotn" of or even the mentn of homosexualy schools.

MY ADVICE TO GAY FOOTBALLERS: DON'T E OUT OF THE CLOSET

His vtigatn, for which he was award Young Journalist of the Year 2017, saw Josh go to a Liverpool church that was offerg a dangero therapy volvg prayer and starvatn to "cure" gay people - which although proven not to work and to e harm, is sadly still legal the UK. Liverpool Gay BarsThe LisbonToday: Lisbon Fun Night - Every Thursday35 Victoria Street, Liverpool, Uned KgdomShow on mapThe Lisbon is a trendy bar Liverpool that serv tasty food and lic drks. Featur:BarCafeDancgMicRtrantWeekday: 15:00 - 00:00Weekend: 12:00 - 02:00 / 15:00 - 00:00Last updated on: 8 Aug 2023Last updated on: 8-Aug-2023The MasqueraTomorrow: Drag Dis - Every Friday10 Cumberland Street, Liverpool, Uned KgdomShow on mapRegard as Liverpool's iendlit gay bar, The Masquera hosts themed events.

Featur:BarDancgKaraokeLive micMicWeekday: 11:00 - 23:00Weekend: 11:00 - 01:00; 12:00 - 00:00Last updated on: 8 Aug 2023Last updated on: 8-Aug-2023Poste Hoe23 Cumberland Street, Liverpool, Uned KgdomShow on mapAnother iendly pub wh gay lols and tourists. Weekday: 11:00 - 23:30Weekend: 11:00 - 00:30 / 23:30Last updated on: 8 Aug 2023Last updated on: 8-Aug-2023Baa Bar (Victoria Street)Tomorrow: 2for1 Cocktails - Every Friday7 Victoria Street, Liverpool, Uned KgdomShow on mapPopular gay-iendly hangout Liverpool Baa Bar has a private booths, a dance floor and serv tasty cktails by hot bar staff.

Featur:BarCabaret / Drag ShowsMicWeekday: 18:00 - 02:00Weekend: 18:00 - 04:00Last updated on: 8 Aug 2023Last updated on: 8-Aug-2023Juper's BarToday: Karaoke - Every ThursdayA sy gay bar the heart of Liverpool's gay quarter. As a rult, has tradnally rerced an orthodox form of twentieth-century masculy that is lked to those who are whe, middle class, able-bodied, and, most important to this analysis, heterosexual (Symons, 2009) is now wily regnized, however, that twenty-first-century sport is a social stutn that shap and impacts upon the liv of gay and lbian athlet too. Sce soclogist first began to qutn the role that sport plays the productn and reproductn of mascule inty the mid-1980s (Dunng, 1986), there was a slow progrsn om examg sport as a se of male ntrol over women, to regnizg the tersectn between sport and sexualy that rults om the largely heteronormative and homophobic culture of profsnal sport the 1990s and the first of the twenty-first century (Rowe, Markwell, & Stevenson, 2006) was this hospable perd of time that gave rise to sexual orientatn-segregated sportg spac for gay men.

LIVERPOOL GAY BARS

The Gay Gam, while spired by the Olympic Gam, were troduced to foster cln rponse to the “apparent racism, sexism, natnalism, homophobia and elism” prent the mastream gam (Symons, 2009, p. Concerng the foc of this chapter, gby, the first soclogil vtigatn occurred the Uned Kgdom by Price and Parker (2003) and they found the existence of the untry’s first gay club (formed 1995) was prcipally anized around pg perceived or actual homophobia of mastream new Millennium brought chang attus toward homosexualy, not only to society, but also to mastream sport (Anrson, 2014). Exemplifyg this shift empirilly, the first prehensive vtigatn of the experienc of gay mal playg on ostensibly heterosexual teams was nducted by Anrson 2005, and he found that matters had begun to change.

This was a fdg that was affirmed by yet further outlook upon the gay male athlet by straight men 2011 (Anrson, 2011), has been repeatedly shown that heterosexual athlet, generally, are creasgly acceptg of homosexualy (Anrson, Magrath, & Bullgham, 2016; Anrson & McCormack, 2015; Bh, Anrson, & Carr, 2012) reason for this acceptance has to do wh changg attudal disposn toward gay men and changg masculy among heterosexual mal. Anrson (2009) has argued that an clive masculy is now the norm for “Whe, middle class men; both si and outsi of sport” rather than the “domeerg, homophobic behavurs and attus of orthodox masculy”.

347) was the first to e the term “clive masculy” to scribe mascule performanc that view hegemonic masculy as unsirable wh a willgns to embrace femy “ls ncerned wh migatg homosexual spicn through homophobia and heterosexism”. There is also evince for creasg societal acceptance of gay athlet and a softeng of media attus toward gay male athlet both the Uned Kgdom and Uned Stat wh a shift toward clive masculy (Cleland, 2014, 2018; Kian & Anrson, 2009) and MasculyRugby, which Dunng (1986, p.

In this manner, twentieth-century gby players nsolidated their masculy wh gby servg to privilege prence of gay players the hypermascule, physil gby environment may be the ultimate subversn of the myth of gay men beg effemate and un-mascule (Symons, 2010), a siar manner to the challeng to tradnal nstctns of femy that female players prent (Wright & Clarke, 1999). This is bee the volvement of gay players a space that has been a fundamental source of heterosexual male power unrm masculy and challeng the boundary between gay and straight mal and ultimately the perceived differenc between men and women as a whole (Anrson, 2002) example, former Welsh ternatnal player, Gareth Thomas—who is one of the most well-known and rpected players Welsh gby history (McGivern & Miller, 2017; Zhu, 2016)—me out December 2009, to an “overwhelmgly supportive” rponse (McCormack & Anrson, 2010, p. His rerd as one of the most succsful players the sport, bed wh his mascule appearance and physil playg style were certaly ntrary to the mythil reprentatns of gay mal and may expla the posive rponse.

Th, there has been a softeng of the culture associated wh playg gby, driven by younger players g through the system who are creasgly rejectg, if not challengg the prevly accepted e of homophobic disurse that is ed by olr members of the gby muny. 118) and a haven for those who had been exclud or ostracized om the mastream gby their analysis, Price and Parker (2003) examed the Kgs Cross Steelers Rugby Football Club, an amatr gby club based London and the self-claimed world’s first gay gby club. The number of gay gby clubs around the world has steadily grown, spurred by the creatn of The Internatnal Gay Rugby Associatn and Board (IGRAB) Ireland, the first gay gby team was found 2003.

Atralia’s first gay gby club, the Sydney Convicts have been embraced by the cy’s gby muny wh s founr Andrew Purchas award the Orr of Atralia medal that regniz outstandg achievement and service by Atralians. Fdg participants for this rearch was not difficult as the number of clive men’s gby teams has grown om ls than a dozen clubs one ago to eighty-four clubs the Uned Kgdom and Wtern Europe as regnized by and registered wh the Internatnal Gay Rugby Board. Semi-stctured terviews of ten players om each team occurred alongsi, participant observatn and wrten rpons to a participant-requted qutnnaire provid sight to the ratnale as to why the men seek to bee members of the nearly all gay men clive clubs.

As one gay player said wh a lgh, “They jt don’t know they’re gay yet” the nature of clive club members who participated this rearch we opted to exclu heterosexual members of the clubs (only five heterosexual players were intified over the urse of the rearch).

The purpose, rather, was to explore via a ground theoretil approach the possibly changg stcture of gby the Uned Kgdom as relat to the rise clive gay men’s gby teams and their impact on the sport England and beyond. Anrson has repeatedly argued and shown that while homophobia is rapidly creasg, as mori, gay men will always exist wh some cultural i of homophobia, or at least heteronormativy (Anrson, 2009). That fdg alone mak this rearch novel: This is not the experience of gay men clive clubs prevly (Price & Parker, 2003) addn, the nature of masculi as pertas to the social, cultural, and temporal experience of many of the participants was examed but did not bee a central foc of this rearch.