Inclusive masculinities of working-class university footballers in the South of England

Abstract

While British football has traditionally been a highly homophobic environment, recent years have seen a shift toward inclusivity for sexual minorities. In this semi-structured interview research, I use inclusive masculinity theory (IMT) to frame attitudes toward homosexuality among 20 male, ostensibly heterosexual, working-class footballers. Consistent with other recent IMT studies on working-class masculinities, I show that these young men espouse overwhelmingly positive and inclusive attitudes toward social and legal rights for sexual minorities – and the hypothetical notion of having an openly gay teammate. I also show how sport is integral to these men’s emotionally intimate friendships with one another. Accordingly, this research advances recent findings that young, working-class men are adopting increasingly inclusive dispositions toward the presence of homosexuality in sport.

Keywords:

• Football
• homophobia
• inclusive masculinity
• university sport
• masculinities
• friendship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Stonewall are widely accepted to be the UK’s most high-profile lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights charity.

2 ‘First Team’ typically refers to a group of the most talented players in a squad and, therefore, typically play the majority of matches.

3 In English football, the ‘National League’ refers to the highest football league outside of the professional league structures of the Premier League and the EFL.

4 In the UK, the term ‘Post-1992s’ typically refers to a former polytechnic or higher education institute that was given full university status following the structural changes to education made in 1992.