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Discovering How Openly Lesbian Athletes Navigate Team Sport

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Discovering How Openly Lesbian Athletes Navigate Team Sport tle Page THE UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER Faculty of Business, Law and Sport Changing times: discovering how openly lesbian athletes navigate team sport Rachael Anna Bullingham Doctor of Philosophy August 2015 This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a postgraduate research degree of the University of Winchester. Access Agreement I agree to supply a copy of my thesis to the University of Winchester Library and an e- copy to the Data Repository. I agree that my thesis may be copied on demand by individuals or libraries. Title: Changing times: Discovering how openly lesbian athletes navigate team sport Author: Rachael Bullingham Supervisors: Professor Eric Anderson, Dr. Stewart Cotterill, Elwyn Cox Keywords: Sexuality, Homophobia, Homohysteria, Sport, Lesbians Copyright © R.Bullingham (2016) ‘Changing times: discovering how openly lesbian athletes navigate team sport’ , University of Winchester, PhD Thesis, pagination, ORCID 0000-00002-1940-3008. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. Copies (by any process) either in full, or of extracts, may be made only in accordance with instructions given by the author. Details may be obtained from the RKE Centre, University of Winchester. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process) of copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the permission (in writing) of the author. No profit may be made from selling, copying or licensing the author’s work without further agreement. Declaration No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or institute of learning. I confirm that this thesis is entirely my own work. Copyright in text of this thesis rests with the author. Copies (by any process) either in full, or of extracts, may be made only in accordance with instructions given by the author. Details may be obtained from the RKE Office. This page must form any part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process) of copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the permission (in writing) of the author. Where issues of Intellectual Property arise, these should be addressed in accordance with the University’s Intellectual Property Policy and an appropriate comment defining ownership should be included immediately following the Declaration and Copyright statements listed above. 2 Acknowledgements My family and friends have offered unrelenting support throughout the process of my PhD. I read a book before starting my PhD that suggested people would get bored of asking how the project was progressing, what stage you were at and when it would be finished. I have enjoyed an entirely different experience. My family and friends have never stopped asking, never stopped supporting - and on those days when everything seemed impossible, there they were with words of encouragement. Particular thanks must go to Rachael Waters, Lotty, Jennie and Ashley for their ability to keep me laughing and smiling throughout the process. Numerous friends have assisted with proofreading my thesis and I cannot thank them enough for the time that they have sacrificed on my behalf. So thank you to Steph and David for helping me put those commas in the right places and for giving up so many hours of their time. Adam and Rory have helped me throughout the process with regular welfare checks, as well as reading through drafts at short notice; I hope that one day I can return the favour. Their brutal, occasionally funny comments, helped keep me on task and I have no doubt that they have helped me become a better writer. This year at Worcester my colleagues have been exceptionally supportive when I have hidden away to write, supplying words of encouragement when I needed them most. I am exceptionally grateful for the time that they have afforded me this year. Finally, and most importantly, are the two people who have been integral to me completing this PhD. Eric has been the most supportive supervisor anyone could ask for; he has always been at the end of the phone when I have needed guidance and his feedback has undoubtedly made me a better researcher. He has pushed me throughout the process and I have learnt more than I could ever imagine. I cannot thank him enough for the support, guidance and time that he has afforded me. Lastly, I must thank my partner Josephine. She has been there on good days and bad days with her unrelenting support. From the day we started talking about the potential of me starting a PhD, to the day it was handed in, she has motivated and believed in me. She has not once complained about me working every weekend and 3 every holiday throughout the four years it took me to complete this. In short, I would not have achieved this without her and for that I am forever grateful. Thank you. 4 Abstract Research on lesbian athletes’ experiences is dated, with the majority being conducted in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, the 1980s represent a unique socio-cultural period, one Anderson (2009b) describes as homohysteric. Thus, as society has become more inclusive in previous generations, including within women’s sport (Fink et al 2012; Anderson & Bullingham 2013) and men’s sport (Anderson 2000, 2002, 2005a, 2005b, 2009b, 2011a; Adams & Anderson 2011) there is a need to reconsider the relationship between homophobia and sport. Semi-structured interviews from 31 lesbian athletes (from beginner to international standard players) were analysed using the coding procedures within Charmaz’ approach to grounded theory (Charmaz 2006). Results were subsequently applied to the adapted model of homohysteria (Anderson 2009b; Worthen 2014). Memos were used throughout the coding procedure to aid reflexivity and to ensure that results were grounded in data. Results show athletes competing in a positive environment, gaining support from teammates and coaches. Social situations were fully inclusive, including attending socials in LGBT friendly bars, demonstrating that fear surrounding the lesbian label has declined. Language has helped to develop this inclusive atmosphere; talking about sexuality has been shown to negate the environment of silence formerly experienced by lesbian athletes. This change in environment has changed how athletes ‘come out’. No longer do athletes need to prepare a statement; in fact coming out has become something of a non-event. Some athletes were even able to demonstrate an improvement in their professional lives, due to the diminished requirement to conceal their (homo)sexuality. However, some athletes still shunned the lesbian label, not through fear but by deeming it an unimportant facet of their individuality. Additionally, players’ athletic capital had no effect on their acceptance within the team, with the exception of international athletes. 5 Participants faced very limited incidence of homophobia, but in those cases where homophobia was experienced, they would actively challenge the negative behaviour or language, as would their teammates. The supportive environment extended to providing advice and comfort to any athletes struggling with the process of coming out. In addition, participants in some cases became role models for their teammates. While the majority of the results were positive, there remained room for improvement in certain areas. There is still clear evidence that the environment has not changed for all athletes and there remain some areas to be addressed by sporting administrations. Old stereotypes of the predatory lesbian or the affective nature of sport on sexuality were raised by participants but tended to refer to historic events (over 10 years old). 6 List of Contents Part 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 8 Chapter 2: The History of Women’s Sport 19 Chapter 3: Sport as a Homophobic Institution 40 Chapter 4: Overview of Gender and Sexuality Concepts 63 Chapter 5: Changing Climates 79 Chapter 6: Approaches of Grounded Theory 97 Chapter 7: Methodological Literature 115 Chapter 8: Methodology Framework 130 Part 2 Chapter 9: Team Climates 140 Chapter 10: Declining Homohysteria 157 Chapter 11: Coming out of the Glass Closet 176 Chapter 12: Homophobia in Women’s Sport 191 Chapter 13: The Declining Effect of Trailblazers & Supporting Torchbearers 206 Chapter 14: Room for Improvement 222 Chapter 15: Discussion 232 List of References 255 Appendix 1 Memos 271 Appendix 2 Interview schedule 281 Appendix 3 Coding example 283 Appendix 4 Ethical consent 315 7 Chapter 1: Introduction Tennis champion Martina Navratilova was outed in 1982, when a newspaper article about her sexuality was published without her consent (Griffin 2014). As a result, Navratilova promptly lost considerable sponsorship income, and regularly endured homophobia whenever she stepped out on court (Hargreaves 2000; Forman & Plymire 2005; Griffin 2014). She became a cautionary tale for all gay and lesbian athletes - come out at your peril. Anderson (2009b: 7) describes this time period as ‘homohysteric,’ a cultural zeitgeist in which people expressed an overwhelming and irrational ‘fear of being homosexualized’ through the wrong ‘doing’ of gender. It was a time period epitomized by cultural antipathy toward homosexuality. This appeared to play out in the print media, when Navratilova and Evert’s battles on the court were serialised in the media as beauty (Evert) versus the beast (Navratilova) (Griffin 2014). The muscularity that Navratilova demonstrated subjected her to even higher levels of homophobia, with her physique constantly portrayed as a symbol of her sexuality (Hargreaves 2000; Forman & Plymire 2005; Griffin 2014). By contrast, when Amelie Mauresmo came out in 1999, her sponsors Nike actively encouraged her to present a muscular image, even designing revealing clothing with the specific aim of emphasising her physique (Forman & Plymire 2005).
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