Exploring participants' experiences of the Gay Games: intersections of sport, gender and sexuality

Abstract

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Coverage of the Gay Games From 1980–2012 in U.S. Newspapers: An Analysis of Newspaper Article Framing

“…At the individual level, many participants have reported that outcomes related to social and personal development were more important than competitive success (foane & Romont, 1997), Participants have also read the games as providing an opportunity for resistance by producing queer spaces that may help to destabilize norms and trespass on sporting territory that is typically assumed to be beterosexual (Waitt, 2003), The individual benefits derived by Gay Games participants may also translate to action beyond the event, as many have reported being more likely to work toward social cbange through education and political channels following their participation (Krane, Barber, & McClung, 2002), However, the specific political meaning of the games has been a subject of contestation. For example, there has been debate among those involved with the event about the extent to which the Gay Games act as a reformist initiative that may help normalize homosexuality through sport participation, or as a subversive endeavor that may disturb the link between sport and heterosexuality more generally (Rowe, Markwell, & Stevenson, 2006), Markwell and Rowe (2003) have suggested that the Gay Games have tended to place more emphasis on performing in accordance with mainstream conceptions of sport, as opposed to subverting the ideologies and practices of sport itself. In a similar vein, Lenskyj (2002) has pointed to a contrast between the radical goal of the Gay Games serving as an inclusive site of LGBT empowerment with the more liberal goal of staging a revenue-minded, international sporting spectacle modeled after the Olympic Games, In fact, conflicts regarding the proper purpose of the event led to a split between the Gay Games and a competing event named the Outgames, which first took place in 2006 in Montreal, Whereas individuals involved with the Federation of Gay Games hoped to emphasize the event as part of a social movement with political meaning, organizers in Montreal, which had originally been awarded the 2006 Gay Games before having them taken away in the disagreement, placed more focus on promoting the event primarily as a social gathering and gay travel destination (Washington & McKay, 2011 ), Such a confiict highlights the ways in which the event's purpose and significance have been contested throughout the Gay Games' history.…”

Sport, Identity and Inclusion in Europe

“…Although there has been a recent study that analysed the (positive) experience of high-competitive level gay athlete who compete in traditional clubs in Spain , no specific research has yet been carried out in this country on gay athletes who compete in LGBTQ clubs and events. In contrast, different studies from abroad have been found that analyse the lived experiences of gay men and lesbian athletes in LGBTQ sports events (Camargo, 2012;Krane & Romont, 1997;Rowe et al, 2006). Thus, the present chapter aims to increase our in-depth understanding of this reality and throw light on this aspect among gay Spanish athletes.…”

The Art of Coming Out

“…36 As Rowe, Markwell, and Stevenson write, "Sport is a social institution that has a considerable impact on the shaping of gay and lesbian subjects." 37 The confines of the closet have long been institutionalized in the world of professional sports, and the politics of coming out remains contentious. One of the earliest controversies involving the outing of professional athletes occurred in 1975 when Washington Star reporter Lynn Rosellini ran a series titled Homosexuality in Sports in which she claimed, "some of the biggest names in football are homosexual or bisexual."…”