Why are more female profsnal footballers openly gay or bisexual than male players? | ITV News

Contents:

• WAL AND BRISTOL BEARS’ ELOR SNOWSILL ON LIFE AS A GAY WOMAN GBY
• WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• SAM STANLEY IS FIRST ENGLISH GBY PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

WAL AND BRISTOL BEARS’ ELOR SNOWSILL ON LIFE AS A GAY WOMAN GBY

Rearch challeng 'misperceptns about the sexualy of female gby players' Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Imag New rearch nducted partnership wh Harlequs says that nearly half of women’s gby players say homophobic and sexist jok ter girls om playg the sport. Le Cowan-Dickie, Six Natns Review and Sckler’s Sna | RugbyPass Offload | Episo 21Le Cowan-Dickie, Six Natns Review and Sckler’s Sna | RugbyPass Offload | Episo 21The rults have been released ahead of Harlequs’ third-annual LGBTQ+ Pri-themed game FINDINGS: – 55 per cent of women and girls agreed that “many women feel unwele to play gby bee of the jok and negative language some people e about women”– 37 per cent heard homophobic slurs at their club the last year and 59 per cent heard sexist slurs and negative jok about women– 15 per cent reported they had been the victim of verbal homophobic abe at their club– 88 per cent said people “often” rrectly assume that they are lbians bee they play gby (15 per cent actually intified as gay or bisexual)– 79 per cent want negative banter about women to stop gby, and 80% want homophobic banter to stop (the earlier rearch by the Harlequs found 65% of men wanted sexist/homophobic banter to stop)Players were also terviewed as part of the rearch. I feel as though my teammat n be their te selv whout fear of judgement om one another said, ” said Beth Evans, who is straight but who is attendg the Harlequs event to support her sister Jo, who is gay.

WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?

“But when people make assumptns about women who play gby or tell homophobic jok harms everyone. “I was like, ‘oh, jt to talk about the fact that I’m gay’ and she said, ‘oh, well that’s OK bee my son is gay and I’m pletely OK wh ’.

“Almost as if you’ve got to look a certa way to be gay. The 31-year-old says she has not experienced homophobia on the gby pch or her personal life.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

Although she has been the object of unwanted attentn on nights out om men who refe to accept that she is gay or see as a “challenge to turn you”. By ITV News Content Producer Alex BleyThe most proment Women's World Cup ever has e to a close wh another USA only did the tournament throw a spotlight on how different the women's game is om the men's, highlighted how different the teams are as the whole tournament, there were at least 41 female players or ach who are openly gay or the male tournament 2018, there were none. Siarly the Premier League, there is not one sgle player who is openly gay or least five members of the Lns are gay or bisexual, pared wh none of England's male a society where gay marriag n take place, and same-sex upl enjoy the same legal privileg as their heterosexual unterparts, the make-up of both football teams is at odds wh Brish society as a w World Cup aga after victory agast NetherlandsSame-sex marriage me to force the UK 2014.

Cred: PAAcrdg to the Office for Natnal Statistics, 2017, around two per cent of the populatn intified as lbian, gay or is not that male football only attracts heterosexual mal, or women's football a high rat of lbian or bisexual players, but largely due to the differg atmospher surroundg the two gam. "Conversely " the men's game there's more racism, sexism and homophobia", he abe directed at footballers supportg #Enough social media boyttSterlg: Football Chiefs dog 'nowhere near enough' to solve racism problemRacist abe directed at footballers supportg #Enough social media boyttDr Stefan Lawrence, an expert masculy sport and senr lecturer at Newman Universy Birmgham, agre that women's football has a "different culture" to men's. Cred: Three Lns PriThe fact that there were 41 players or ach at the Women's World Cup who were openly gay or bisexual means that beg so the female game is more of a norm.

""People are wag for an ele male player to e out, " adds Di Cunngham, another -founr of Three Lns this jt creas the prsure that the first male player to announce that he is gay or bisexual, will e unr, she adds. "It's such a big al for one footballer to e out, that a few need to do at once to take the prsure off, " believ Dr Rachael Bullgham, a senr lecturer at the Universy of Worcter who specialis homophobia women's sport. Cred: PAThe way which male and female players are veloped is also believed to be a factor why female players beg gay or bisexual is more the norm than male ele male players have e through football ami where they have been sce a young age.

SAM STANLEY IS FIRST ENGLISH GBY PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

"It's not bee gay men aren't terted beg profsnal footballers, " he explas, but bee ami are "heteronormative" (where beg heterosexual is the norm) environments.

Cred: PAWhile the male game is "heteronormative", acrdg to Lawrence, the female game is the oppose and "homonormative", he says, meang that players who are lbian or bisexual do not hi their sexuali as they feel that beg homosexual is "much more accepted" until the "heteronormative" atmosphere men's football is broken, by players g out, will ntue to self-perpetuate. "They may have veloped a thick-sk breakg down the barriers they already have, " meang g out is one more a seri of hurdl for them to Magrath, a senr lecturer at Solent Universy who specialis homophobia and masculy agre that female footballers may jt see as yet another barrier they mt break down orr to succeed. Cred: Stonewal FCAnother reason why players may not want to e out is that those at the top of their game will travel around the next men's World Cup is Qatar 2022, a untry which beg homosexual is punishable by up to seven years prison.