Karen Pollock introduces our theme for May: Sport
Each month, as well as our usual news, views and reviews, we like to look at a topic in a little more depth. This May we are turning our queer gaze to the subject of sport. When physical activity is discussed in an LGBTQ+ context it rarely gets beyond homophobia, but there is, we believe, a lot more to say than rainbow laces. Why are some sports, seemingly, more homophobic than others? What about transphobia, biphobia and assumptions about who wants to do which sports? What barriers are preventing access to sport, is it more about poverty than prejudice for example? Given that we know trans and bi people have particularly poor health outcomes what is being done to encourage them into more physical activity? Who are the LGBTQ+ sporting role models, ready to lead the next generation?
Sport is a billion dollar industry, but one which demands we treat it like an amateur hobby, this month we hope to kick off a discussion of how to understand, improve and explore the LGBTQ+ sporting life. As always if you have a guest post or an idea, please get in touch, via the comments form below, or the Queerness twitter.
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