From hegemonic to inclusive masculinities in English professional football: marking a cultural shift

Abstract

In this article, we conduct a generational study of measuring progress towards the inclusion of homosexuality in professional sport. We accomplish this by interviewing an openly gay football player, Anton Hysén, in the year 2017, using the precise same questions about the relationship between his homosexuality and sport that were asked of the first openly gay professional footballer in 1992, Justin Fashanu. We thus measure difference in attitude according to the 25 years that have elapsed between the interviews. Our results emphasize two themes: First, the near-total acceptance of being gay within professional football today, compared to 25 years ago; and second, the social praise that is levied upon today’s openly gay sportsmen, compared to the social stigma placed upon Fashanu.

Keywords:

• Football
• soccer
• Hysén
• Fashanu
• gay athletes
• media

Notes

1. First broadcast in January 1992, this interview was aired on a British television programme called Open to Question.

2. While we recognize that former French player Olivier Rouyer came out in 2008 (before Hysén), we are referring here to gay players who were active at the time of their announcement.

3. Strictly Come Dancing (UK) and Dancing with the Stars (US) are television programmes in which celebrities pair up with professional dancers and perform various routines each week in a knock-out competition.

4. Each season, UEFA rank each of their member leagues according to teams’ success and popularity of the league. The most recent rankings place Sweden in 21st place (out of 54), its highest position for over a decade.