Bret Sickels
\nQueer America
\nProfessor Jack Gieseking
\n Masculine or Gay: Why Not Both?
\nMy paper will seek to understand the fears and stereotypes about homosexuality that pervade athletic culture. Over time, homosexuality has become more accepted in sports. I am seeking to write about the cultural and societal factors that have led to this increased acceptance. I will also detail the immense challenges still facing homosexual athletes today. Before discussing specific homosexual athletes that have struggled and prevailed within present day society, one must first understand the ways in which masculine ideals challenge homosexuals in sport. In this essay I will argue that the term masculinity is a social construct that has been continuously perpetuated within society since the creation of sport. I will utilize this fact to exemplify the ways in which the huge amount of importance placed on being masculine has negatively affected homosexual athletes throughout history and in present day America.
\nToday, sport is viewed as the \u201cbest environment to create \u201creal men,\u201d creating and showcasing not only the physical prowess associated with great men, but also displaying \u201ctrue\u201d masculine virtues\u201d(Eric Anderson). In order to fully comprehend the development of challenges faced by homosexuals in sports today, one must first understand the development of \u201cmasculinity\u201d within the classical societies of the Greek and Roman empires. The term \u201cmasculinity\u201d is defined as having the appropriate excellences of the male sex; manly, virile, vigorous, powerful (oxford English dictionary). In Ancient Greece, the ideal athlete body and the ideal soldier\u2019s body were one in the same. Scott Rubath discusses this in Competing Constructions of Masculinity in Ancient Greece when he states:
\n\u201cGreek conceptions of masculinity are intimately tied to the virtue of courage. The very word that we translate as courage, andreia, comes from the Greek word for a male adult, an\u00ear can be translated as \u2018manliness.\u2019 Courage is usually used to specify the excellence of bravery and valor, especially on the battlefield. Hence this is an excellence or virtue not normally applied to women, except by analogy, since women were excluded from military training and activity in all Greek cities. Courage in battle was primarily seen as a male affair. \u201c<\/p>\n
Thus, many of the athletes, acrobats and thesbians in Ancient Greece were often active duty soldiers because they were contained the most idealistic \u201cmanly\u201d bodies.
\nIn The Arena of Masculinity: Sports, Homosexuality, and the Meaning of Sex, the author Brian Pronger, identifies masculinity \u201cas an interpretative context that assigns value to gestures and attitudes that are themselves valueless. These values are along a spectrum of power, with masculine being powerful and feminine being powerless\u201d. He further exemplifies how masculinity is in fact cultural and therefore is a \u201cproduct of historical developments and subject to social change\u201d. He references Ancient Greek Wrestling, which was developed in 708 B.C, expressing the idea that these wrestlers were seen as the epitome of masculinity. Wrestling was to be used as an expression of strength and thus only the most masculine and courageous men could compete. Pronger further explains that these wrestlers were intended to represent the strength of Greece rather than their individual fortitude. Classical societies allowed homosexual relations, but they were necessarily subject to a status difference, usually between the active and passive partners. Here we can see that gender roles are affiliated with a \u201cranking\u201d system that has been a feature of human society for centuries. Hierarchy is a prerequisite of governance. For rule of law to be effective, there must be a less powerful group of people who acquiesce to the laws enforced by a ruling class. Thus, hierarchy is a natural produced as seemingly an outcome of human society. In Sport, Bodily Culture and Classical Antiquity in Modern Greece, Fournaraki states, \u201cvarious perceptions of ancient athletics, especially those inspired by the ancient Greek plastic representations of the athlete, offered a productive field for the construction of aesthetic and moral models of manhood within Western modern civilization in general\u201d. In other words, our contemporary definition of \u201cmasculinity\u201d stems directly from the socially constructed masculine ideals in ancient Greece.
\n\tThis ancient development of masculinity has led to homophobia and assisted in developing the present day definition of the ideal \u201cmanly\u201d man, which is perpetuated and altered through the media. In representing our Sport and Gender Identities: Masculinities, Femininities and Sexualities, the author states, \u201cThe social practices of schooling, the rituals of same-sex peer groups, and the representations of the media all contribute to the ceaseless reconstruction of masculinities; in a sense they are machines for producing masculinity\u201d(32). In other words, the media does not simply reflect society\u2019s view on masculinity; rather it assists in constructing it. Today, sport is viewed as the \u201cbest environment to create \u201creal men,\u201d creating and showcasing not only the physical prowess associated with great men, but also displaying \u201ctrue\u201d masculine virtues\u201d(Eric Anderson). If one were to Google the term masculinity, these are the two images that first appear: <\/p>\n
The first image shown with the words a \u201care you a man\u201d contains societal implications to what our view of masculinity is. With this image, it becomes obvious that in order to be masculine you must be incredible strong and muscular. The second image contains a quite different version of the way our society would define masculinity. The societal implications of this image are that if you are not heterosexual with a mind that is obsessed with the female body then you are, in fact, not masculine. This image reflects how the media has altered our perception of what the masculinity is. Rather than it being solely connected to gender, it is also connected to sexuality. Thus making it very difficult for homosexual men to become successful due to the fact that coming out could potentially ruin their athletic career and ruin their image.
\nThis perpetuation of the ideal masculine male athlete within the media directly affects gay athletes in a multitude to ways. Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and began in 1877. In theorizing Masculinites in the context of mediated tennis, Eileen Kennedy describes Wimbledon as an event that \u201cattempts to narrate these conflicts in a way that preserves \u2018gentlemanliness\u2019 as a key characteristic of the hegemonic version of masculinity\u201d(26). In other words, a very important aspect of this tournament was to project images of the ideal masculine gentleman. Bill Tilden, a gay tennis player who won 3 Wimbledon championships and 7 U.S championships is perfect example of an athlete who suffered due to the idealized masculinity Wimbledon wanted to portray. Even though he was a wildly successful tennis player, he was not highly celebrated and memorialized due to his sexuality. Tilden published an autobiography in the 1940s with the hope of taking \u201con society\u2019s hostility toward his homosexuality as successfully as he dispatched opponents\u201d(Flawed life of Gay Tennis Icon). He stated in his autobiography in support of homosexuality, \u201chistory further demonstrates that in frequent instances creative, useful and even great human beings have known such relationships\u201d. In his autobiography Tilden referred to homosexuality as a \u201ccondition\u201d which speaks volumes to how different homosexuality was viewed during the mid 1900s than it is today. This led to backlash from the public and the media.
\nThe New York Times wrote an article reviewing his book, titled \u201cCatty Reminisces\u201d, in which Tilden is referred to as \u201can arrogant and unblushing showoff\u201d. After his book gained publicity, Tilden was \u201cexpelled from Germantown Cricket club and the University of Pennsylvania removed his name from the alumni list\u201d(flawed life). Here we can examine early-20th century American reactions to the phenomenon of an openly gay athlete. In Bill Tilden: the flawed life of a tennis icon, Carvalho concludes that \u201cin today\u2019s sports culture, as more high-profile athletes come out, it provides another reason to revisit Bill Tilden- a champion who, both in his playing style and lifestyle- was born too soon, discussed sexual identity too early, and has been buried too deeply for too long\u201d. Through Bill Tilden\u2019s story, we are able to see the ways in which the early 20th century and the state of the ideal masculine man negatively affected openly gay athletes.
\n\tBilll Tilden\u2019s story exemplifies the beginning of a state of homophobia, which increased dramatically in the 1980\u2019s and 1990\u2019s as the result of intense fear and suspicion of the gay community. Before the 1980s there were very little documented cases of individuals with AIDS. Since homosexuals were seen as the ones who are spreading AIDS, bigotry and hatred toward homosexuals increased dramatically. The mayor of New York failed to discuss the AIDS epidemic until 1983 and referred to Aids activists as merely \u201cconcerned citizens\u201d. Senator Jesse Helms remarked, \u201cI wish they would shut their mouths, go to work and keep their private matters to themselves and get their mentality out of their crouches\u201d. Due to the AIDS epidemic, many athletes who are homosexual were frightful of coming out because it could ruin their image as well as their career.
\n One example of an athlete that was affected by the rise in homophobia during the 1980s was David Kopay, the first professional team-sport athlete to come out of the closet. He played running back San Fransisco and Washington and was a very well respected player. After he retired, he attempted to enter into a coaching career, however \u201cthe NFL and colleges expressed no interest after his homosexuality was made public.\u201d Though he was not allowed to coach due to his homosexuality, that did not stop Kopay from speaking out on behalf of the homosexual community after his retirement. In a 1998 article titled \u201cKopay apologizes to Aikman\u201d, Kopay was asked a series of questions about his experience as a openly homosexual athlete in the NFL. In the article, Kopay states \u201cI don’t know about confidentiality; I think that happens naturally with their peers. But certainly the right-wing gay-bashers out there like Pat Robertson, those people are all preaching hate. You have one of the leaders of this country coming out and equating gays with kleptomaniacs and alcoholics. It’s disgusting.\u201d This quote exemplifies the hatred felt toward homosexuals at the time and also establishes Kopay as an activist for the gay community.
\nThough society has moved a long way since the 1920s view on homosexual athletes, there is still backlash and difficulties that present day openly gay athletes are forced to endure. Another NFL player who publicly announced his homosexuality is Michael Sam. He played college football for the University of Missouri and was later drafted by the St Louis Rams. He was the first publicly gay player to be drafted to the NFL, which came with a lot of challenges. In Sports Illustrated, NFL executives said that Michael Sam would most likely fall in the draft due to his coming out announcement. Could this be because he is no longer seen as the tough masculine player he is? In fact, other openly gay athletes, such as Kopay felt he had to overcompensate for his homosexuality by being the toughest and aggressive player he possibly can. In Life Outside, report on Gay Men: drugs muscles and the Passages of Life, Michelangelo Signorile explores this \u201ccult of masculinity\u201d and the need for athletes, specifically homosexual athletes to be the ideal man. He states the cult of masculinity revolves around the normalization of an \u2018ideal\u2019 male body that is unattainable for most, and subjects gay men to immense pressure and self-doubt\u201d(70). Exemplifying the extreme amount of emphasis placed on being masculine in professional sports as well as proving the societal view of homosexuals as effeminate.
\n In response to Michael Sam\u2019s coming out, many athletes took to twitter to express their discontent. Former NFL receiver Patrick Crayton tweeted \u201coh wow!!! There goes the NFL\u201d. After being questioned about his tweet, he responded, \u201cI say that because now this young man is (going) To get all the wrong attention for his sexual choice and a lot of players and execs will get asked about playing with a gay guy and they are Going to have to lie about how they really feel. This young man will come in with notoriety for announcing his sexual choice more then his Ability to play the game he loves\u201d. Crayton was not the only person to express his homophobic beliefs. An anonymous NFL executive said \u201cI don\u2019t think football is ready for [an openly gay player] just yet,\u201d said an NFL player personnel assistant. \u201cIn the coming decade or two, it\u2019s going to be acceptable, but at this point in time it\u2019s still a man\u2019s-man game. To call somebody a [gay slur] is still so commonplace. It\u2019d chemically imbalance an NFL locker room and meeting room.\u201d The NFL puts a great emphasis on masculinity and these reactions to Michael Sam\u2019s coming out is a perfect example of homophobia seen in American sports today.
\nOne aspect of having a gay athlete on a team that people are \u201cfearful\u201d of is their presence in the locker room. The CNN article \u201cLust in the Locker Room: Get Over it\u201d discusses David Denson coming out of the closet. Denson is the first player in Major League Baseball history to be openly gay. It also discusses Jason Collins, the first player in the National Basketball Association to come out publicly. In the article Collins is quoted saying, \u201cthose of you worried about a gay teammate checking out your ass in the shower or hitting on you in the steam room, or bringing too much attention to the team\u2014I have four simple words for you. Grow the F*** up.\u201d This article also connects back to homophobia within sports but specifically in the locker room. Former NBA player Larry Johnson is quoted saying \u201cI don\u2019t know Jason Collins personally but he seems like a great guy. Me personally, gay men in the locker room would make me uncomfortable\u201d. The article recognizes that he is probably not the only person who feels this way. Some, like the NFL executive previously quoted in my essay, argue that having a homosexual in the locker is a distraction. He said, \u201cThere are guys in locker rooms that maturity-wise cannot handle it or deal with the thought of that. There\u2019s nothing more sensitive than the heartbeat of the locker room. If you knowingly bring someone in there with that sexual orientation, how are the other guys going to deal with it? It\u2019s going to be a big distraction. That\u2019s the reality. It shouldn\u2019t be, but it will be.\u201d The article juggles, without a specific conclusion, whether or not a person whom is uncomfortable being in the same locker room as a homosexual is in fact homophobic. \tThough there are some people who are filled with hate and\/or fear towards homosexuals in sports, there are others who support them. Jerome Bettis played running back for the Pittsburg Steelers and was wildly successful and respected. He encompasses every social construct of \u201cmasculinity\u201d for he is big, athletic, aggressive, successful and fearless. In response to Michael Sam\u2019s coming out, Bettis said:
\n \u201cor him to make it public that he is gay, the key word is he knows who he is and he\u2019s comfortable with who he is. I think that sends the message that it is OK and I think that\u2019s what everyone needs to take from that. It is OK that he is gay and wants to play football in the NFL. I think this is the perfect opportunity for the NFL to now make this a point to communicate to every NFL team now you have to understand, now you have to bring these players to this moment<\/p>\n
\tBettis\u2019 statement made to the press speaks volumes to how far society has come with respect to homosexual athletes. This is also an example of the media assisting in the acceptance of homosexuals in the NFL, which has not been the case in the past.
\nTo conclude my historical analysis, I will examine the positive advances that American sports society has made in the past few decades. The government important began to take a role in alleviating homophobia in sport. The most important of these is likely the Jennifer Harris vs. Penn State lawsuit, detailed in Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport. Jennifer Harris was an NCAA basketball player who was previously an all-American at her high school. After receiving a scholarship to play basketball for Penn State she was removed from the team because she is a lesbian. The coach Rene Portland established a policy for \u201cno drinking, no drugs, no lesbians (Training rules) and threatened to kick anyone off the team of is a lesbian. Jennifer Harris then filed a federal lawsuit against Rene Portlandand the university. The court ruled in favor of Harris, thus fining Portalnd ten thousand dollars, required her to take diversity training sessions as well as placed her on zero tolerance. This proves that the government and institutions are putting forth an effort to end bigotry against homosexual athletes.
\n I will focus on the proliferation of advocacy groups, the cultural shifts, and the individual efforts that have advanced our society towards acceptance. Some of these stories include the struggles Roy Simmons of the NFL, and the Olympian Greg Louganis in coming out and gaining acceptance from mainstream America. Roy Simmons was a former New York Giants offensive lineman and lived his NFL career as a closeted homosexual. Due to the AIDS epidemic and views on homosexuals during the 1980s, Simmons felt forced to keep his sexuality a secret. It wasn\u2019t until 1992 when Simmons \u201ccame out to the world on Phil Donahue\u2019s talk show\u201d. In the ESPN article Roy Simmons: A Giant and a Pioneer, James Hester, a friend of Simmons stated that for Simmons, \u201clife after the NFL was hard. He was a man in pain, the only way to release pain is to get honest, and the only way to be honest is to live a free life\u201d. Simmons did exactly that in 2006 when he wrote the book \u201cout of bounds: coming our of sexual abuse, addiction and My Life of Lies in The NFL Closet\u201d. His book has paved the way for closeted homosexual athletes to feel comfortable coming out of the closet. The ESPN article concludes with this statement from George Elliot:
\nthere are people who live unheralded lives, but their contribution is no less important than the lives that are chronicled for the history books. Perhaps that is the life Roy Simmons lived. Maybe in some small way his struggles, the ones that undid him, have paved the way for Jason Collins and Michael Sam and all the athletes who will inevitably follow.<\/p>\n
Here, the article points out that though Simmons spent his athleteic career in the closet, he eventually helped to propel the acceptance of gay athletes in society.
\nAnother athlete who remained in the closet and faced the despair of having to live in the closet is Greg Louganis. Louganis was an Olympic diving champion who won back to back gold medals in 1984 and 1988. He published a memoir in 1995 titled Breaking the Surface in which he publically came out as a homosexual as well as being HIV positive. the article titled Greg Louganis Tells how he went from Heartthrob to Activist, states that after the release of his memoir, Louganis \u201cfound himself in the role of HIV activist as he defended his \u201clifestyle\u201d to an often uninformed and homophobic media that preferred to blame the victim. Larry King\u2019s blunt and decidedly insensitive question to Greg, \u201cHow could a smart guy like you practice unsafe sex?\u201d encapsulated much of the mid-\u201990s response to those dealing with the virus.\u201d. Though He experienced some backlash, Louganis became an idol for all homosexuals as well as an activist. In a 1995 press interview \u201che stood in front of the microphone and said \u201cMy name is Greg Louganis. I\u2019m gay and I\u2019m HIV- positive.\u201d Louganis mentions in the article that he receives mail from fans who have experienced the same type of trauma and hardships that he went to. Louganis is clearly a huge activist in helping the homosexual community feel more comfortable about coming out.
\nWith the historical analysis complete, we can better understand the plight of modern gay athletes. Here I will explain some of the challenges and stereotypes that gay athletes face today. Robbie Rogers\u2019 Coming Out to Play is a great account of one athlete\u2019s personal struggle with homophobia. Here we can see how fearful Robbie Rogers was of coming out of the closet. He was scared that doing so would cost him his career as a professional soccer player as well as the love of his family. Thus, Robbie Rogers resorted to keeping his sexuality a secret, which hurt him a multitude of ways. Rogers said that while he remained in the closet during his soccer career he heard a lot of homophobic slurs, which made it even harder for him to come out. He is quoted saying “There were different emotions (when he heard homophobic comments). Sometimes I would feel bad for them. Sometimes I would laugh because it was kinda funny. And, sometimes, it got malicious,” Rogers said.”That was when I would get this awful feeling in my stomach. I would turn my head and try to chat about other things. They often don’t mean what they say\u201d. Through the life and words of Rogers, it becomes obvious that the best way to prevent the marginalization and discrimination of gay athletes in the future would be end the usage of homophobic slurs.
\n\tThe next article I will be discussing is Openly Gay Athletes: Contesting Hegemonic Masculinity in a Homophobic environment. In which, research was done on a multitude of openly gay athletes in order to prove that homosexuality and sports are compatible. This article also discusses the importance placed on masculinity in sports and how those ideals perpetuate homophobia. This text proves that by being an openly homosexual professional athlete who is widely successful at their sport prove that homosexual athletes contain all of the same \u201cmasculine\u201d characteristics as heterosexual athletes, except for their sexual identity. The article Sports Journalists\u2019 views on Gay Men in Sport, Society and within Sport Media consists of interviews held with 10 sports journalist about their views on Gay athletes in sport. Concluding that most of the reporters believe that society will soon be able to accept gay athletes, however the same cannot be said about the locker rooms. Many of the sports journalists agree that society has come a long way in raising the acceptance of homosexual athletes. However, they also agree that it will be very difficult to have an openly gay male in the same locker room as straight men. The issue of the locker room is one that will be difficult to overcome, however in my opinion, athletes will soon be able to accept their homosexual teammates without the fear of being \u201chit on\u201d in the locker room.
\n\tUltimately, the goal of my essay is to trace the origins of homophobia and masculine ideals in sport back to ancient beliefs. We can see how these beliefs were reinforced over time, with religion playing a large role in this process. Then we acknowledge the failures of early 20th century American media to dispel these myths even when homosexuality was beginning to gain acceptance in the modern media. We can understand how gay stereotypes evolved through the late 20th century, especially as they related to the AIDS crisis. We can then see how the condition of gay athletes has improved in recent decades, especially in light of a legal regime that protects minorities from discrimination. This context is necessary to detail the next steps in upholding the standards of fairness and equality for all athletes, regardless of sexuality. With this understanding, we can offer a prediction about the future of homosexuals and sport and the challenges gay athletes will continue to face in gaining acceptance in modern society.<\/p>\n
Bibilography:<\/p>\n
Aitchison, Cara. Sport and Gender Identities: Masculinities, Femininities and Sexualities. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.<\/p>\n
Alvarez, Erick. Muscle Boys: Gay Gym Culture. New York: Haworth, 2008. Print
\nAnderson, Eric. In the Game: Gay Athletes and the Cult of Masculinity. Albany, NY: State U of New York, 2005. Print.
\nBernstein, Alina, and Edward M. Kian. Gender and Sexualities in Sport Media. Abingdon: Routledge, 2013. Books.google.com. Google, 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
\nGriffin, Pat. Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1998. Print.
\nPronger, Brian. The Arena of Masculinity: Sports, Homosexuality, and the Meaning of Sex. New York: St. Martin’s, 1990. Print.
\nRogers, Robbie. Coming Out to Play. Penguin Publishing Group. New York, New York. 2014.
\nCain, Will. “Lust in the Locker Room: Get Over It.” CNN. Cable News Network, 3 May 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
\nAnderson, Eric. “Sports Journalists Views on Gay Men in Sport, Society, and within Sport Media.” Academia.edu. Sage Publications, 2 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2016
\n“Greg Louganis Tells How He Went From Heartthrob To Activist With Candid New Film.” Queerty. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2016.
\nMcManus, Jane. “Roy Simmons: A Giant and a Pioneer.” ESPN.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
\n“Kopay: Apologizes to Aikman.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 8 May 2016.
\nWaldron, Travis. “The Best And Worst Reactions To Michael Sam\u2019s Coming Out.” ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 8 May 2016
\nAitchison, Cara. Sport and Gender Identities: Masculinities, Femininities and Sexualities. New York: Routledge, 2007. Web.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bret Sickels Queer America Professor Jack Gieseking Masculine or Gay: Why Not Both? My paper will seek to understand the fears and stereotypes about homosexuality that pervade athletic culture. Over time, homosexuality has become more accepted in sports. I am seeking to write about the cultural and societal factors that have led to this increased…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1562,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1562"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions\/356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-queer-america\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}