LGBT and football

[pigge]

Do you think there's actually players who are out to their teammates or in the realm of their club, but for whatever reasons not publicly? It's just something that's crossed my mind and I thought is interesting to ponder.

On it being harder to be LGBT: I don't know. I'm not homosexual and basically have no ties to the community, so I'm in no shoes to talk about offenses and affronts and how it actually feels or what the current state is - following the reasoning just 'cause I don't belong to that certain group and thus don't experience it it doesn't exist.

What I can say is that it's feels kind of twofold. On one hand the public seems to be very, very tolerating by now. Almost disinterested. There's a gay man running for Merkel's succession in the biggest German party and even the extreme right party has a lesbian woman as their figurehead and it's caused basically no roar, nor discussion. Kind of like that's just how it is. In the mainstream media the caricaturistic representation of gay men and lesbian women as effeminate and respectively manly to exploit them as mostly comedic relief has definitely regressed. There's this roughly 10 year old German parody film by one of the most well known German comedians, based on the German/French/Jugoslawian Winnetou Karl May movie adaptations, and it features an absolutely over the top effimante gay Native American - and 'cause of exactly that character it has basically become unwatchable for most anyone I know, when at the time it came out it was the standout feature of the the movie. It seems as if people have largely outgrown the trend to mock homosexuality in such stereotypical ways or enjoy it.

On the other hand, in certain peer groups, it's not mocking or fear or hate of homosexuality, but the swear words derived from a homosexual background or which have been used to slander homosexuals is still very rampant. Although in the most cases, the words have of course not been cut off from where they came from and thus how they became swear words, but still of the direct connotation or insinuation of homosexuality. E.g. the use of faggot. It's derived from the slandering of homosexual men as unmanly, but by now has seemingly lost it's direct connotation to homosexuality itself. So when you're called a faggot they still call you an "unmanly man" but don't mean you're gay anymore. The big problem here is of course still the notion that even if it's somehow lost it's direct homosexual connotation, it still has that background of coming in to use as a word defaming a minority.
In other peer groups though, especially in such groups traditionally used by men to reassure themselves and other of their manliness or even to impose it on others - male only friend groups, the football stadium or pitch, or groups made up of older men - seem to still have that sort of fear or unacceptance and outdated picutre of homosexual men as overly effeminate, weak, etc. and in more extreme cases still use the actual sexuality as slander. Unfortunately, football stands are still the place where I most often hear outright use of homosexuality as slander. Interestingly, though, in most cases of this I know, these people will use far less aggressive words - they'll use the publicly accepted "descriptive", but to say very homophobic things.
So paradoxically, there's a group of people that use ("ex"-) homophobic swear words in a way that's varyingly disconnected from homosexuality displaying anything from disinterest to tolerance to outright acceptance of homosexuality in their private opinion, and then there's groups that refrain from using homophobic swear words but are inherently homophobic or at least generally unaccepting of it in their private opinion. And - using the football example again, there's of course homophobes using homophobic swear words.
This is an interesting topic to me as it deals with multiple angles and themes; sexuality, society, peer groups, language, etc.

Regarding homosexual footballers I can only say that Thomas Hitzlsperger, ex-VfB Stuttgart captain, West Ham, Aston Villa, Everton and German NT player, known for his energetic, hard man and powerful playing style along great mentality and leadership, is widely accepted across the Stuttgart fandom as an out, homosexual man and only mocked for it by an absolute minority of idiots. He's regarded as one of the better and intelligent pundits on German TV. His coming out basically didn't have any bearing on his standing. But then again: He was already retired.

I'm not gay but it's very obvious that it's harder to be gay than not. Just imagine you realized you were gay just now. How would your life change? Who could you tell? Could you tell your family? Will your friends accept you?
And thats just TELLING people. That early it's already harder. And there is alot more.

 

[ptrcopp]

What is not helping is the pressure on footballers to come out by the media in this country. Being gay should be like skin colour, a complete non issue.

This is the biggest problem I think. When the first one comes out there will be a massive media storm about it; most will praise him, stick him onthe front page, follow his games more closely. There will be massive intrusion because of it. There will also be a few nonesense posts in certain sections of the media that criticise him. Whoever he is, he will have a hard time from all sections of the media.

The best thing would be a group of players. Wasn’t there talk of that not too long ago?

 

[ptrcopp]

We are maybe just a few years away from it

Not because of players

Most players nowadays are kids of the 80s/90s we are "with the times"
Still many coaches, staff and executives are still old farts, but footballs global thing can also delay it, not all come from liberal Western countries

Maybe we wont see that many for various reasons

But dont worry the female players make up for it

I still remember buying Thomaz hitzelberger on cm/FM he was quite a player

I wonder if there are people in certain sections of FIFA UEFA FA etc who would be worried about someone coming out because it may impact on the global brand football has.

It does sound like a conspiracy, though

 

[tap-in]

If gay players are to come out, any homophobic reactions have to be treated in the same way as Racism. If shouts of Poof, Fagot or any other derogatory remark are heard, you have to come down hard on the culprits. Until the authorities understand this, I don't see many gay players coming forward. Another question is, why should they come forward? You don't hear "Its time all atheists came out!" Your sexual orientation has no need to be public unless you want it to be, the same as your religious beliefs.

 

[Mo Britain]

It's about time people grow up and be whatever they want to be without the need to shove it in people's faces. I don't give a good god damn what football players eat, what music they listen to or who they shag. I have no interest in gay or straight players coming forward and I think the continual sexualisation of everything is a yawn.

I am straight and I don't feel the need to flaunt my straightness to anyone except when I'm trying to find a shag. I don't celebrate anyone elses's sexuality because I don't want anyone to celebrate mine.