Inclusive ideologies and passive performances: exploring masculinities and attitudes toward gay peers among boys in an elite youth football academy

Abstract

Drawing on data generated from semi-structured, one-to-one interviews in 2012, this article focuses on the attitudinal disposition toward homosexuality of 12 English academy level football players aged 14–15. Results highlight the presence of progressive attitudes toward homosexuality even though some of the youth feel they lack the agency to contest homophobia when espoused in their schools. Using a blend of two dominating masculinities theories, we use these interviews to highlight that boys in this setting are best understood as a complex imbrication of inclusivity yet socially-passive acceptance. We suggest that boys of this age are now primed for learning agency to contest the social marginalization of others.

Keywords:

• Inclusive masculinities
• homosexuality
• adolescent boys
• football (soccer)
• elite sports
• youth academy

Notes

1. An ‘academy’ is a private, non-school-based, youth development programme for boys linked to a professional football (soccer) club. the primary objective of an academy is to produce young players for the professional, adult, ‘first’ team of a football club (see Bourke, 2003; Holt & Mitchell, 2006; Relvas, Littlewood, Nesti, Gilbourne, & Richardson, 2010).

2. To the authors’ knowledge at least four of the boys who participated in this study are now active as adult professional footballers either at West-Side or other football clubs, while some are active at the semi-professional levels.