‘Those students who are really self-confident about their homosexuality usually have considerably fewer problems’: how physical education teachers perceive sexual and gender diversity in PE

ABSTRACT

Previous research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer plus (LGBTQ+) students feel marginalised and discriminated against in physical education (PE) and that teachers play a crucial role in establishing openness towards sexual and gender diversity in schools. Despite these findings, there is a lack of research that focuses on the topic of sexual and gender diversity in PE from the perspective of PE teachers. The paper addresses this academic void. Based on semi-structured interviews with 13 PE teachers from Germany, we explore the question of how PE teachers perceive sexual and gender diversity in PE and how they reflect on classmates’ interactions with LGBTQ + students. The analysis of the interview data is framed by the concept of school climate with regard to sexuality and gender diversity. Our data show that the interviewed teachers have different, partly divergent experiences with sexual and gender diversity in the context of PE. On the one hand, teachers notice that the socially propagated tolerance and openness towards sexual and gender diversity are manifested in the students’ interactions with each other, while on the other hand they observe a non-acceptance of certain LGBTQ + students and related problems in PE. The examination of the PE teachers’ experiences reveals central, partly overlapping patterns of argumentation with regard to the perception of (non-)acceptance of LGBTQ + students. Overall, it becomes apparent that the conditions of perceived (non-)acceptance of LGBTQ + students are determined situationally and subject-related. At the end of the paper, we discuss our findings in the light of current empirical knowledge.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBTQ+
• gay
• queer
• trans
• homophobia
• heteronormativity
• school sport
• subjective perspective
• gender climate

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The present paper is our original, unpublished work. We have not submitted it elsewhere. We agree to the authorship order and content of the manuscript. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with APA’s ethical standards. In particular, the participation in this study was voluntary for each participant and consent from all participants was obtained.

Notes

1 The General Equal Treatment Act obliges all social institutions to prevent or eliminate discrimination of any kind, while the so-called ‘third option’ in gender registration recognises that gender is more complex than a dichotomous division into men and women suggests.