FA anti-homophobia campaign

[OzzieMandias]

I wonder if a new anti-racism campaign would provoke such uneasy and irritated responses

 

No because it is obvious that some racism is still prevelant.....

 

Not half as obvious as it is that homophobia is rampant.

 

Against whom?

 

[Allmo]

I wonder if a new anti-racism campaign would provoke such uneasy and irritated responses

 

No because it is obvious that some racism is still prevelant.....

 

Not half as obvious as it is that homophobia is rampant.

 

Against whom?

 

Homophobia is a hell of a lot more prevalent when a player is suspected of being gay than if a player was black for example. A lot of people wouldn't give a second thought to calling someone a 'fudge packing cunt' compared to a 'black bastard', and the response from people round them would be minimal.

 

 

[Stu]

I wonder if a new anti-racism campaign would provoke such uneasy and irritated responses

 

No because it is obvious that some racism is still prevelant.....

 

Not half as obvious as it is that homophobia is rampant.

 

Against whom?

 

Homophobia is a hell of a lot more prevalent when a player is suspected of being gay than if a player was black for example. A lot of people wouldn't give a second thought to calling someone a 'fudge packing cunt' compared to a 'black bastard', and the response from people round them would be minimal.

 

 

 

Remember the furore surrounding "star Premiership footballer and Gay DJ in bed romp" etc etc last year (or was it the year before?). Even on this board there's been numerous childish slurs against the likes of Jenas, Ambrose, Xisco and their supposed sexuality - not that it makes any difference on the playing field.

 

Fowler and Le Saux (someone who's spoken out against homophobia on numerous occasions - despite being married with kids, he was tarred with the 'gay brush' during his career). The chants against Sol Campbell are still fresh in the mind.

 

Do you honestly believe that if a footballer came out, he wouldn't be persecuted by the media and supporters? Let alone the abuse he'd get from oppositions players, maybe even his own teammates. Max Clifford reckons he has had 4 Premiership 'stars' come to him to try and get spotted on nights out in the company of ladies, so that their image is 'protected'. Extraordinary lengths to go to for something that "isn't prevalent"

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective. Some people will always have hatred for those who engage these behaviours

 

The biggest problem is not with the fans itself, but with the atmosphere among footballers. It is male-dominated and homosexuality is well-hidden in almost every male-dominated industry. Even on this forum....how many openly gay members do we have? How many gay friends do you have?

[CaliMag]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

[Foluwashola]

I wonder if a new anti-racism campaign would provoke such uneasy and irritated responses

 

No because it is obvious that some racism is still prevelant.....

 

Not half as obvious as it is that homophobia is rampant.

 

Against whom?

 

Homophobia is a hell of a lot more prevalent when a player is suspected of being gay than if a player was black for example. A lot of people wouldn't give a second thought to calling someone a 'fudge packing c***' compared to a 'black b******', and the response from people round them would be minimal.

 

 

 

Remember the furore surrounding "star Premiership footballer and Gay DJ in bed romp" etc etc last year (or was it the year before?). Even on this board there's been numerous childish slurs against the likes of Jenas, Ambrose, Xisco and their supposed sexuality - not that it makes any difference on the playing field.

 

Fowler and Le Saux (someone who's spoken out against homophobia on numerous occasions - despite being married with kids, he was tarred with the 'gay brush' during his career). The chants against Sol Campbell are still fresh in the mind.

 

Do you honestly believe that if a footballer came out, he wouldn't be persecuted by the media and supporters? Let alone the abuse he'd get from oppositions players, maybe even his own teammates. Max Clifford reckons he has had 4 Premiership 'stars' come to him to try and get spotted on nights out in the company of ladies, so that their image is 'protected'. Extraordinary lengths to go to for something that "isn't prevalent"

 

Well i suppose if Max Clifford says so....

 

Its not that I don't believe players who come out will get abuse, although I believe they would get much less abuse then they would have received in Justin Fashanu's playing days.

 

Its just that the FA could be spending their funds on much more pressing matters (more grassroot-level development, further anti-racism work) than on this particular problem. I still find it hard to believe that there will be many gay footballers in the English league system.

[cubaricho]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

 

Glad someone handled that comment with a bit of tact.  The statement definitely took me by surprise.

[Kaizero]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective. Some people will always have hatred for those who engage these behaviours

 

The biggest problem is not with the fans itself, but with the atmosphere among footballers. It is male-dominated and homosexuality is well-hidden in almost every male-dominated industry. Even on this forum....how many openly gay members do we have? How many gay friends do you have?

 

I think it's rather commonplace these days to have gay friends. I have quite a few of them myself.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

[cubaricho]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

 

Deviant?  You're either born gay or not, dude.  There's nothing deviant about it.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

 

Deviant?  You're either born gay or not, dude.  There's nothing deviant about it.

Do you know what the word means? It deviates from the norm....therefore it is deviant regardless of how one becomes this way. That is quite clear.

[CaliMag]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

I would say that from an evolutionary standpoint it seems to remain in the minority and that it seems "natural" for our society to persecute minorities.

I wouldn't call homosexuality "deviant" though.

[CaliMag]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

 

Deviant?  You're either born gay or not, dude.  There's nothing deviant about it.

Do you know what the word means? It deviates from the norm....therefore it is deviant regardless of how one becomes this way. That is quite clear.

Right and its normal for people to be gay... so not deviant.

[Frazzle]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

 

Deviant?  You're either born gay or not, dude.  There's nothing deviant about it.

Do you know what the word means? It deviates from the norm....therefore it is deviant regardless of how one becomes this way. That is quite clear.

 

It depends what you consider 'the norm' to be.  It's normal to have different skin colours, hair colours, attitudes etc. why not different sexualities?

 

Otherwise you could say black skin isn't normal or ginger hair isn't normal.

[cubaricho]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

 

Deviant?  You're either born gay or not, dude.  There's nothing deviant about it.

Do you know what the word means? It deviates from the norm....therefore it is deviant regardless of how one becomes this way. That is quite clear.

 

There's nothing unnatural (or deviant) about it if you're homosexual.

[CaliMag]

Homophobia always has been and always will be prevalent, simply because homsexuality is wrong just from a biological perspective.

This is a false statement by the way.

 

Homosexuality occurs in many vertibrates across the animal kingdom and there is actually a great deal of research showing the benefits from an evolutionary standpoint.

Ok, that is fair, but surely you cannot dispute the fact that it is a deviant behaviour and that people who engage in it will always be otracised to some degree. That is just the fact of the matter.

 

Deviant?  You're either born gay or not, dude.  There's nothing deviant about it.

Do you know what the word means? It deviates from the norm....therefore it is deviant regardless of how one becomes this way. That is quite clear.

 

It depends what you consider 'the norm' to be.  It's normal to have different skin colours, hair colours, attitudes etc. why not different sexualities?

 

Otherwise you could say black skin isn't normal or ginger hair isn't normal.

Well put.

If we follow Babatunde's logic then it would be okay for us to refer to Asian footballers as "deviant." Can't imagine it would go over well if people starting referring to players like Chopra that way.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

I didn't really intend negative connotations btw.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that because it is a behaviour rather than a physical condition (i.e. you can't look at someone and deduce that they are gay) that it will be more looked down upon than race, disabilities, etc.

 

Also, one can not deny the second part of my point, that male-dominated areas of society are not places in which people are openly gay. Footballers hide more for the reaction from teammates than from fans.

[cubaricho]

I didn't really intend negative connotations btw.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that because it is a behaviour rather than a physical condition (i.e. you can't look at someone and deduce that they are gay) that it will be more looked down upon than race, disabilities, etc.

 

Also, one can not deny the second part of my point, that male-dominated areas of society are not places in which people are openly gay. Footballers hide more for the reaction from teammates than from fans.

 

Not sure man.  I figure if your teammates knew you were gay that they would be far more understanding than a bunch of mongs in the crowd.  Your teammate(s) may not agree with it but they have to face you day-in/day-out and will at least not be an idiot about it.  The crowd on the other hand - well there is a large feeling of anonymity where they will feel they can get away with a lot more.

[Stu]

I wonder if a new anti-racism campaign would provoke such uneasy and irritated responses

 

No because it is obvious that some racism is still prevelant.....

 

Not half as obvious as it is that homophobia is rampant.

 

Against whom?

 

Homophobia is a hell of a lot more prevalent when a player is suspected of being gay than if a player was black for example. A lot of people wouldn't give a second thought to calling someone a 'fudge packing c***' compared to a 'black b******', and the response from people round them would be minimal.

 

 

 

Remember the furore surrounding "star Premiership footballer and Gay DJ in bed romp" etc etc last year (or was it the year before?). Even on this board there's been numerous childish slurs against the likes of Jenas, Ambrose, Xisco and their supposed sexuality - not that it makes any difference on the playing field.

 

Fowler and Le Saux (someone who's spoken out against homophobia on numerous occasions - despite being married with kids, he was tarred with the 'gay brush' during his career). The chants against Sol Campbell are still fresh in the mind.

 

Do you honestly believe that if a footballer came out, he wouldn't be persecuted by the media and supporters? Let alone the abuse he'd get from oppositions players, maybe even his own teammates. Max Clifford reckons he has had 4 Premiership 'stars' come to him to try and get spotted on nights out in the company of ladies, so that their image is 'protected'. Extraordinary lengths to go to for something that "isn't prevalent"

 

Well i suppose if Max Clifford says so....

 

Its not that I don't believe players who come out will get abuse, although I believe they would get much less abuse then they would have received in Justin Fashanu's playing days.

 

Its just that the FA could be spending their funds on much more pressing matters (more grassroot-level development, further anti-racism work) than on this particular problem. I still find it hard to believe that there will be many gay footballers in the English league system.

 

The lack of any 'out' footballers (at any professional level) is what makes this such a hot topic, we're supposed to be an advanced society with equality across all areas, yet football (of all sports) has such an issue with sexuality.

 

It's been raised again by the rugby world's recent reaction to Gareth Thomas coming out at the end of last year, generally applauded by all sides of the equality 'battle'.

 

Ensuring equality throughout the game is just one of the FA's objectives, I doubt the efforts here are detracting from their grassroots program.

 

You highlighted "further anti-racism work" as something the FA could be doing instead, why is that? I know Spain and Italy, to pick two developed European countries, have massive issues still but haven't really noticed it in England over the past few years. What makes you feel that the FA need to do "further anti-racism work" over other equality issues?

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Also, being the first to come out is daunting for anyone. I think it is more likely that someone will come out near retirement like Fashanu or that someone will be exposed. (Actually, this has already happened, but it is generally swept under the carpet for the sake of the player)

[dustynrg]

"Fowler and Le Saux (someone who's spoken out against homophobia on numerous occasions - despite being married with kids, he was tarred with the 'gay brush' during his career). The chants against Sol Campbell are still fresh in the mind."

 

Wasn't Le Saux said to be gay because he read the Guardian? The Deviant!

 

And talking of supposed deviancy - people go on and on about male/male anal sex,, what about male/female anal sex? female/male anal sex? I have no idea why people get so upset/uneasy about what gays do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, I always think that maybe they're not too sure about whether they'd enjoy it themselves.

[CaliMag]

 

Wasn't Le Saux said to be gay because he read the Guardian? The Deviant!

 

 

Le Saux spent his weekends going antiquing with his wife and spent his hard earned cash on antiques and old books (as opposed to booze, women and fast cars) - he wasn't a lad's lad and already had a reputation in the Blackburn locker room for being a reader on the team bus. David Batty saw him reading the Guardian in the dressing room before a match and said something along the lines of: "Bloody 'ell you also reading the f*cking Guardian, you must be a f*cking pooftah." Le Saux had had enough and it kicked off between them. After that the "Gay" slur stuck with him.

 

Never liked Batty anyway. A decent DCM but a f*cking cretin none-the-less. WHen asked about missing his PK for ENgland in '98 he said he'd be over it the next day. The man had no conscience.

[Guest kingdawson]

"Fowler and Le Saux (someone who's spoken out against homophobia on numerous occasions - despite being married with kids, he was tarred with the 'gay brush' during his career). The chants against Sol Campbell are still fresh in the mind."

 

Wasn't Le Saux said to be gay because he read the Guardian? The Deviant!

 

And talking of supposed deviancy - people go on and on about male/male anal sex,, what about male/female anal sex? female/male anal sex? I have no idea why people get so upset/uneasy about what gays do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, I always think that maybe they're not too sure about whether they'd enjoy it themselves.

 

Female/male anal sex? you mean with a strap on

 

Anal sex is a gay act (be it male/male, or male/female). One day people will realise this.

[Foluwashola]

You highlighted "further anti-racism work" as something the FA could be doing instead, why is that? I know Spain and Italy, to pick two developed European countries, have massive issues still but haven't really noticed it in England over the past few years. What makes you feel that the FA need to do "further anti-racism work" over other equality issues?

 

There is still quite a way to go with racism. When I get to the match I certainly hear alot more racism than homophobia e.g Mido chant, numerous shouhomts of ""black bastard" etc.

 

I'm not entirely clued up on the FA anti-homophobia campaign in all honesty. Are they trying to remove banter between fans a la "whos the pufter in the pink," or just protecting players?

[Stu]

"Fowler and Le Saux (someone who's spoken out against homophobia on numerous occasions - despite being married with kids, he was tarred with the 'gay brush' during his career). The chants against Sol Campbell are still fresh in the mind."

 

Wasn't Le Saux said to be gay because he read the Guardian? The Deviant!

 

And talking of supposed deviancy - people go on and on about male/male anal sex,, what about male/female anal sex? female/male anal sex? I have no idea why people get so upset/uneasy about what gays do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, I always think that maybe they're not too sure about whether they'd enjoy it themselves.

 

Female/male anal sex? you mean with a strap on

 

Anal sex is a gay act (be it male/male, or male/female). One day people will realise this.

 

How did we know you would rear your head into this thread...