Sexual Diversity: Inclusiveness in Women‘s Club Level Sport By Chelsea Litchfield A thesis submitted in the fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Sport and Exercise Science Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development Victoria University Melbourne, Victoria May 2011 Abstract Safe and supportive spaces are important for women as they explore and affirm diverse and non-conventional discourses and practices of gender and sexuality. Sport, however, does not readily provide such spaces. Historically, many women athletes and women‘s team sports have been stigmatised by a lesbian label and by the discrimination that regularly accompanies this label. Also, there are many sporting teams and club environments where lesbians are invisible and silent. This research examined the lived experiences of women hockey players from three clubs in suburban Melbourne, in relation to their understandings of gender and sexuality, and policy and practice in the club context. This research project utilised a qualitative multiple case study approach and employed interview and content analysis methods. It was found that all three hockey clubs had not implemented a ‗member protection‘ or anti-discrimination policy at the club level. Additionally, the two clubs that had a mixed-gender membership had a culture where males dominated the governance of the club and adhered more readily to traditional ideas about gender and sexuality resulting in a culture of male domination and heterosexism. In such clubs, women often played a subordinate role and sexual diversity in general, and visibility of lesbians in particular, was minimal. In contrast, the club which was established by lesbian feminists, and had an exclusively female membership, had developed by necessity and design, a culture of governance of women by women, a more open attitude to the sexuality of members and a highly visible lesbian presence. This research concluded that the current communication processes in place between the state sporting association and the hockey clubs was inadequate, as evidenced by the invisibility of policy at each of the hockey clubs. In addition, irrespective of politics, gender and sexuality diversity, the lesbian label, in all cases, had a negative impact on the research participants by defining, controlling and constricting their self identity and self image. ii Declaration I, Chelsea Jane Litchfield, declare that the PhD thesis entitled ‗Sexual Diversity: Inclusiveness in Women‘s Club Level Sport‘ is no more than 100,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work. Signature Date iii Acknowledgements As with any major project, the allowance of space and time is essential. Many people over the last six years have awarded me such time and space. My initial thoughts go to my life partner, (Dr) Jackey Osborne. Having two PhDs in the house over the last six years has been a difficult time, particularly with two small children and employment commitments. I thank Jackey for her support, love and countless proofreads over this period. I also thank Alivia and Izayah for their unconditional love, along with my parents for their constant encouragement and support. I am indebted to Dr Caroline Symons, my Principal Supervisor. Caroline has provided the ‗hard‘ feedback that was required at times and the encouragement I needed to keep going. Her expert advice has been appreciated. I also thank Associate Professor Dennis Hemphill, my Co-Supervisor. Dennis‘ advice with the candidature process, ethics application, feedback and careful editing over the last six years has been appreciated. I also want to thank colleagues from Charles Sturt University, in particular Professor Frank Marino for his support. Postgraduate Staff from Victoria University need to also be acknowledged, in particular, Grace Schirripa and Lesley Birch. I also thank Michael Burke and Chris Hallinan who both sparked an interest in sport sociology in me during my undergraduate studies at Victoria University. My final thanks go to the participants of this study who invited me into their hockey clubs (and their lives) and were so generous with sharing their stories. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Declaration iii Acknowledgements iv Appendices xi List of Tables xii List of Acronyms xiii Chapter One – Introduction Introduction 1 Aims and Objectives 4 Chapter Summaries 6 Chapter Two – Literature Review Introduction 9 The Construction of Gender 9 The Construction of Sexuality 14 A Brief History of ‗Homosexuality‘ 18 Mid-Twentieth Century Experiences for Lesbians 20 Late Twentieth Century Experiences for Lesbians 22 Feminism in the late Twentieth Century 25 Sporting Experiences for Late Twentieth Century Lesbians 28 Gender, Sexuality and Sport in the Twenty-first Century 31 Griffin‘s Three Climate Continuum 35 Structural Relations of Power in Sport 41 v The Discourse of Sport – Female Athlete: She must be a lesbian! 45 The Formation of Lesbian Identities in Sport 50 The International Gay Games and Outgames 58 Safe and Affirming Spaces for Female Athletes 64 Concluding Comments 66 Chapter Three – Method Introduction 67 Case Study Method 70 Document Analysis 73 Interview Method 74 Snowball and Purposive Sampling 81 Recruitment Process 82 Ethical Risks and Safeguards 85 Thematic Analysis 88 Member Checking and Peer Reviewing 90 Limitations 91 Reflexivity 92 Conclusion 93 Chapter Four – Legislative and Policy Context Introduction 94 Legal Status of LGBT in Australia 95 Sexual Diversity and State Anti-Discrimination Law 97 LGBT Rights and Protections 100 vi The Law and Sexuality Discrimination in Sport 101 National and State Sporting Organisations 103 Understanding the Roles of Governing Bodies and Clubs 105 Local Sporting Clubs Anti-discrimination Obligations 108 Education on Homophobia-free Sport 112 North America, UK and Europe 112 Victoria and Australia 113 Cultures of Sporting Clubs 123 Culture of Hockey and Hockey Clubs in Australia 127 Concluding Comments 131 Chapter Five - Case Study 1 – Northern Central Hockey Club (NCHC) Introduction 132 Demographic Information 133 The Origins of NCHC 134 Governance at NCHC 137 Lived Experiences of Inclusion at the Club 139 Attitudes towards Sexuality Diversity in Sport 148 Lesbian Women 149 Bisexual Women 152 Heterosexual Women 153 Sexuality and Separation in Sport 158 Participating at the Gay Games 162 Policy and Practice at NCHC 165 Concluding Comments 173 Chapter Six - Case Study 2 – Melbourne Central Hockey Club (MCHC) Introduction 175 vii Demographic Information 175 The Origins of MCHC 177 Governance at MCHC 179 Lived Experiences of Inclusion at the Club 183 Homophobia Experiences at Past Hockey Clubs 189 Attitudes towards Sexuality Diversity in Sport 191 Lesbian Women 191 Bisexual Women 194 Heterosexual Women 195 Sexuality and Separation in Sport 197 Policy and Practice at MCHC 201 Concluding Comments 207 Chapter Seven - Case Study 3 – South Eastern Hockey Club (SEHC) Introduction 209 Demographic Information 209 The Origins of SEHC 211 Governance at SEHC 213 Lived Experiences of Inclusion at the Club 214 Attitudes towards Sexuality Diversity in Sport 218 Lesbian Women 219 Bisexual Women 220 Heterosexual Women 220 Sexuality and Separation in Sport 224 Policy and Practice at SEHC 227 Concluding Comments 230 viii Chapter Eight - Discussion Chapter Introduction 232 Principal Differences 234 1. Power and Politics – Governance 234 2. Founding Principles 239 a. Feminist Vs Patriarchal 240 b. Performance Vs Participation 243 3. Age and Demographic 245 4. Definition of Inclusiveness 248 a. Gay Games 253 b. Language 255 c. Safe Spaces 257 Principal Similarities 259 a. Explaining Gender and Sexuality Identity 259 b. Lesbian Stigma Associated with Women Participating in Hockey 261 Anti-Discrimination Policies 266 The Lack of Policy at the Hockey Clubs 267 Chapter Nine – Conclusion 274 Gaps and Improving Current Practices 279 Limitations 281 Recommendations 283 Policy Implications 283 Research 284 Reference List Audio Visual 287 Books 287 Conference/Symposium Presentations 292 ix Edited Anthologies 292 Journal Articles 295 Newspaper Articles 300 PhD Dissertations 300 Reports and Legislation 301 Unpublished Articles 303 Websites 303 x Appendices Appendix A – Information Letter for Sporting Clubs 306 Appendix B - Recruitment letter to Club Members 307 Appendix C - Recruitment letter to Club Officials 308 Appendix D – Information to Participants 309 Appendix E - Sample Interview Guide for Athlete Participants 310 Appendix F - Sample Interview Guide for Manager, Administrator, Coach and Official Participants 311 Appendix G - Consent Form (For Athlete Participants) 313 Appendix H - Consent Form (For Coach/Team Manager/Administrator Participants) 314 xi List of Tables Table 1 – Riddle‘s ‗Negative Levels of Attitudes‘ Table 2 – Riddle‘s ‗Positive Levels of Attitudes‘ Table 3 – Griffin‘s ‗Lesbian Coaches‘ (and athletes) Identity Management Strategies‘ Table 4 – Reimer‘s ‗Lesbian Identity Formation – A Proposed Model‘ Table 5 – Play by the Rules – ‗Role of Governing Bodies, Clubs and Groups‘ Table 6 – Recommendations from the ‗Come out to Play‘ research Table 7 – Enactment of WHO principles at local hockey club level xii List of Acronyms ACT Australian Capital Territory