This stereotype about gays in sport has been confirmed by a study
A new study has revealed stark results for lesbian, gay and bisexual young people in sport.
Researchers polled 13 to 18 years old about their experiences of school sport – and found most don’t take part.
They first did the analysis in 1998 – finding that five in ten young people were in a sports team.
But when they came to the research again 15 years on, they found an even worse situation.
Just three in ten were in sports teams the second time round.
“In every year we measured, LGB youth were about half as likely, or even less, to participate in coached sports than straight youth were,” said Elizabeth Saewyc, senior author of the study and UBC professor.
“And unfortunately, that gap has persisted and even widened over time.”
Some 90,000 13-18-year-olds were asked for the latest survey, making its results indicative of the broader issues.
It’s thought many young LGB people feel excluded by the culture of sports, with homophobic name calling still common.
The issue was more acute among lesbians as young gay men.
“The decline in participation in both informal and coached sports tells us that there should be a range of exercise opportunities for young people who may not want to play traditional team sports,” the researchers added.
A pro-Trump dad recently claimed he was scared his daughters are becoming lesbians because of the sport they’re playing.
Meanwhile anti-trans rules in some states have led to fewer sports in those states as clubs seek to stand up for LGBT people.
