Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Gay Sports Guys
Over at the League of Fans they have a great article and some resources dealing with the topic of gay men in sports and how difficult it is for them to fit in.
It seems there was some controversy back in October when famous sports writer Ed Gray of the Boston Herald decided to come out of the closet and announce that he is gay. The league of fans quotes:
Coming out shouldn't have to be such a big deal, but we all know it is, especially in sports. As Gray wrote in his column, "The gay community is the one minority that is still very much fair game for overt displays of prejudice in the world of sports. While inroads toward achieving equality are slowly being made in the real world, a gay man is still expected to bear the burden of shame in the sports world."
I really feel for him. I'm sure he lost a lot of readers when they found out who he really is. Jocks are just like that.
We all know how most sports people treat the gay community. I'm not saying everyone is bad, so please don't start sending me the email telling me about your pro gay sports fan and how not all are jerks, I already know.
I'm talking about the fanatics and I think most people would agree that jocks are usually of the homophobic variety and anyone seeming the least bit effeminent is quickly ridiculed and humiliated.
The favorite insulting term I hear from the mouth of just about every fan I see in a sports jersey of some kind is always some variation of the word "fag". You would think in this day and age people would understand the hatefulness of that word, but not in the wide world of sports. In most states if you use that term while assaulting someone, you might just face hate crime charges if they really turn out to be gay.
I despise this term. It's foul. I've been subjected to it my whole life from jocks and others simply because I am slender and not interested in team sports not involving some sort of projectile weapon. This term has suddenly become very popular with the young people and this trend should not be allowed to continue.
When we were setting up their haunted house I suggested to my friends 15 year old and his buddy that they stop using that offensive term every five seconds and instead substitute "that's so Jock" for "that's so gay" and "Jock" for "fag". I have to admit I was surprised when they actually did it and enjoyed the rest of the day as they used my terms instead.
Hopefully, as Mr. Gray speculates, there are inroads being made and the world of sports will finally decide these hateful attitudes are archaic and should be lustrated from the face of the earth.
It seems there was some controversy back in October when famous sports writer Ed Gray of the Boston Herald decided to come out of the closet and announce that he is gay. The league of fans quotes:
Coming out shouldn't have to be such a big deal, but we all know it is, especially in sports. As Gray wrote in his column, "The gay community is the one minority that is still very much fair game for overt displays of prejudice in the world of sports. While inroads toward achieving equality are slowly being made in the real world, a gay man is still expected to bear the burden of shame in the sports world."
I really feel for him. I'm sure he lost a lot of readers when they found out who he really is. Jocks are just like that.
We all know how most sports people treat the gay community. I'm not saying everyone is bad, so please don't start sending me the email telling me about your pro gay sports fan and how not all are jerks, I already know.
I'm talking about the fanatics and I think most people would agree that jocks are usually of the homophobic variety and anyone seeming the least bit effeminent is quickly ridiculed and humiliated.
The favorite insulting term I hear from the mouth of just about every fan I see in a sports jersey of some kind is always some variation of the word "fag". You would think in this day and age people would understand the hatefulness of that word, but not in the wide world of sports. In most states if you use that term while assaulting someone, you might just face hate crime charges if they really turn out to be gay.
I despise this term. It's foul. I've been subjected to it my whole life from jocks and others simply because I am slender and not interested in team sports not involving some sort of projectile weapon. This term has suddenly become very popular with the young people and this trend should not be allowed to continue.
When we were setting up their haunted house I suggested to my friends 15 year old and his buddy that they stop using that offensive term every five seconds and instead substitute "that's so Jock" for "that's so gay" and "Jock" for "fag". I have to admit I was surprised when they actually did it and enjoyed the rest of the day as they used my terms instead.
Hopefully, as Mr. Gray speculates, there are inroads being made and the world of sports will finally decide these hateful attitudes are archaic and should be lustrated from the face of the earth.
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