GAYS AND LESBIANS IN SPORT. UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SPEECH ABOUT THEIR ACCEPTANCE

Abstract

The presence of gays and lesbians in sport is clearly increasing. Studies in Western countries show different outlooks, from a certain normalization in some societies to the persistence a hostile climate for sexual diversity. Given the absence of these studies in Spain, the aim of this paper is to describe the speech used by Spanish university students in explaining the presence of gays and lesbians in sport. A qualitative methodology by content analysis to two focus groups in which nine university students involved is employed. The results show some initial normalization of gays and lesbians in sport, clearer in the case of women, but point to a latent and subtle rejection that occurs in each of the three forms of homophobia (affective, cognitive and behavioral). In sport, stereotypes about homosexuality generate rejections in part of society, and it attack mainly by verbal aggression.