Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)

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Football has always reflected society, but it has also helped to either ground it in views or helped it to evolve. In the modern age, times have progressed and prejudice against sexuality have become as unaccepted as that as prejudice against other groups.

Football, at all levels, was avowedly homophobic. On the training grounds, any weakness meant a player was labelled derogatorily using homophobic slurs, whilst the terraces were loud with offensive songs & chants against opposition players questioning their sexuality. Homophobic humour was even open in the mainstream media in sport. When openly gay English footballer Justin Fashanu moved to play for Airdrie & then Hearts back in the early 1990s, it unleashed a torrent of offensive taunts on the terraces from all supports across Scotland.

The progress of the LGBT+ community at Celtic
There is no trying to disguise the fact that the Celtic support in general as with the rest of the Scottish & Irish communities over the years, have previously been intolerant of homosexuality. Religious views can’t be held up as responsible alone for this, we all have to admit our errors.

Society has thankfully changed into the 2000s, and football has caught up alongside it. With football’s blue-collar roots and often testosterone fuelled culture, it has been quite a turnaround. On the other hand, football has been singled out too often when there was a bigger picture to look at.

Links

“Being gay or bisexual shouldn’t matter in football. As soon as you put that strip on, you’re one of us – no matter who you are.
“I’d like people to know that I’m there. I’d never judge someone for their sexuality, or have a problem with it”
Celtic Captain Scott Brown 2019

Quotes & Anecdotes

Articles

LGBT Prejudice in Football

LGBT Prejudice in Football
27th January 2018
LGBT Prejudice in Football
https://leapsports.org/blog/lgbt-prejudice-in-football
Let’s get straight to the point here; LGBT prejudice exists in football, as it does in life.

**This article contains strong language which some readers may find upsetting.

Let’s get straight to the point here; LGBT prejudice exists in football, as it does in life. If it didn’t, we would know of multiple LGBT footballers at the top level, we would wear their name on the back of our jersey, we would applaud them as they walked onto the pitch and their sexuality wouldn’t act as a stick with which to beat them with every time they took to the field, as experienced by so many LGBT footballers at lower levels of the game. Not only does this prejudice affect players, but it affects fans too.

As a bisexual woman I have faced, what I would describe, as mild homophobic prejudice and with that said the homophobic bile that I heard from three rows behind in the seat that I held in the lower North Stand for six seasons at Celtic Park was not in fact directed at me but at one of our own players who had shied away from a challenge. This inaction justified him to be branded a “******* poof”. As a Scottish football fan I am well aware of the age old tradition of going “right ******* threw the man” and to do anything less makes you a “***** bag”. I, like many others, have often thought less of players who never stuck to this tradition, who got scared of challenging for the 50/50 ball but can you explain to me why “poof” was the alternative word used to describe the player as less than his opponent? And can you understand why the use of the word “poof” to describe someone as inferior, scared and weak supports and reinforces the idea that to be homosexual is lesser than everyone else?

This homophobic abuse wasn’t directed at me and yet the language used by my fellow Celtic supporter engulfed me in a way that I don’t think language before or since ever has. I did think about standing up from my seat and challenging a member of our Celtic family on the language he had callously used towards one of our own, but I didn’t. Sitting next to my Father, who I hadn’t yet came out to; I slumped back in my seat and continued to watch the game.

Hearing language of this nature on the stands is harmful. I wish I had turned round and gave that man his comeuppance that day, but I never did. Instead I retreated from the language I heard and continued to deny my identity to my friends and family because of the fear that had been placed upon me by a member of my community (the Celtic family) who always assured me I would never walk alone.

Before we move on from this, I would like to put my hands up and confess the guilt I have felt for not reporting the issue. I am the first to admit this is a very difficult thing to do for various reasons. My initial reason was I hadn’t came out to my Dad yet, and walking up to a steward to report an incident would likely end with me having to tell my Dad I’m bi, which I wasn’t ready to do yet. Other reasons include shame, not wanting to be labelled a grass and, the worst, expecting that even if I did report it nothing would be done. I can’t really expect to be angry or disappointed in people (homosexual, heterosexual or otherwise) who don’t report homophobia at football grounds, because I haven’t done it myself. But imagine the weight off my shoulders, and how safe the young 16 year old me would have felt if someone had intervened and told that guy to give it a rest.

Regardless, I have no doubt that I am welcome at Celtic Park. I wish to make that abundantly clear. This was one incident over a 16, going on 17, year relationship with Celtic. But you can’t tell me I’m the only one who has experienced prejudice like this at a football ground.

Since 2015 we have seen the launch of a few LGBT supporters clubs in Scotland. Aberdeen were the first to launch such a supporters group, namely the Proud Dons. Hearts were next and in 2016 they launched their LGBT supporters group Tynecastle Pride. In the summer of 2017 Dundee followed with the Proud Dees and at the end of last year Partick Thistle created their own LGBT supporters group the Proud Jags.

I have read many tweets, fan forums and Facebook posts which are wholeheartedly negative towards the existence of LGBT supporters groups, and don’t want them anywhere near their club. Some believe they are unnecessary, others deduce that they are divisive while others just outright don’t want gay fans or players anywhere near their football club.

Here is my reason why LGBT supporters groups and LGBT friendly football clubs are imperative to football, and British football culture:

LGBT supporters groups and LGBT friendly football clubs are essential because their ability to give a face, a voice, a body and a personality to LGBT people completely destroys the stereotypes, the presumptions and misinterpretations which ultimately lead to the broad misunderstanding that we are somehow less of a human than you. We are the invisible minority, therefore people will always assume they know what a stereotypical gay person looks like, how a stereotypical gay person acts, how a stereotypical gay person talks, how a stereotypical gay person walks and how a stereotypical gay person see’s you. Note: it is because of these stereotypes, and misinterpretations, that some people don’t want to associate or connect with LGBT people in any way.

Look at it this way; in the same way that the police deem you (and me), the Scottish football fan, to be a criminal long before we’ve even entered the ground so to do you judge me (and the entire LGBT community) to be something we’re not, simply based on inaccurate and stereotypical interpretations.

Before people get to know us, we are judged. To explain, from as early as I can remember I was labelled a tom boy. This label had a profound effect on me because it made me different from the other girls in my class. I stood out and not necessarily in a good way. Being a tom boy is synonymous with being masculine and having male characteristics. I have never really been able to shake this label, and I suppose it doesn’t bother me as much as it did then because I’m so used to it by now but let’s explore the significance of why I was labelled as someone who ultimately lacks feminine qualities. Because it is significant.

I was labelled a tom boy because I loved sports (sigh). Anything to do with running, jumping, catching, throwing, kicking, sweating, competing and exercising – I was your girl. My passion for sports justified adults, children, family and friends to question my femininity. Can you imagine how difficult that is for a child (as I was at the time) to comprehend? These are huge issues to be dealing with at primary school but I dealt with it every single day, probably until the day I left high school.

Without going into the demons of my childhood the important point to make here is that from an early age, and simply because I loved sports (a typically male past time), I was stereotyped as something I didn’t necessarily identify as. The stereotype I was labelled with had an enormous effect on my dress sense, the friends I kept, the way people spoke to me, the activities I took part in and so much more. It impacted most of the decisions I made in my young life. This is the exact reason why LGBT supporters groups and LGBT football clubs are completely justified and overwhelmingly necessary.

LGBT supporters groups and LGBT friendly football clubs stop the LGBT community from being the invisible minority at football grounds. There is no doubt that outdated, over exaggerated, inaccurate and stereotypical descriptors of ‘what it means to be gay’ or ‘what it means to be a man/woman’ is the root cause of LGBT prejudice at football grounds among football supporters. It is visibility, and the opportunity that it gives us to integrate, that will bring an end to foolish stereotypes and, most importantly, will allow us to connect on a level that isn’t based on perceived sexuality/gender.

Now I am not writing this in an attempt to attack football or my football club. I was just as proud as anyone, if not more so as a member of the LGBT community, the day Celtic unveiled a rainbow flag banner at Rugby Park. I was immensely proud sitting among friends, drinking a vodka in Blackfriar’s pub at Merchant City after marching in my first ever Pride March in Glasgow.

On that day, I showed my colours for the first time, and so did my football club and it will forever fill me with joy. But why not have a lasting connection to the LGBT cause? We are, after-all, A CLUB OPEN TO ALL; let’s cement our vision. Having an LGBT Celtic supporters group is not divisive; it’s celebratory of the diverse football culture that we have sustained since 1887 when Brother Walfrid formed a football club to “encourage social integration”.

If Celtic, and more importantly my fellow supporters, had told me 10 years ago “Lindsay, you can be LGBT and out and proud” then I would have saved many years of painstaking misery.

We are Celtic Football Club; a club open to all. Let’s cement our vision; in a way that only the best fans in the World know how.

Proud Huddle C.S.C is the first ever Celtic LGBT Supporters Club. We are a club open to all.

If you would like to join us, please get in touch via e-mail at proudhuddlecsc@outlook.com. Alternatively, you can find us on Facebook at ProudHuddleC.S.C or on Twitter.

Celtic support Rainbow Laces campaign

CELTIC Football Club is delighted to be showing our support for lesbian, gay, bi and trans players and fans by wearing Rainbow Laces at our Premiership match against Motherwell at Fir Park on Wednesday, December 5.

Rainbow Laces is Stonewall Scotland’s campaign to change attitudes in sport and make sure that LGBT people are welcomed and accepted at all levels of the game.

Sadly, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people have a poor experience in sport and have experienced discrimination because of who they are.

Research shows that almost half of LGBT people think that public sporting events, such as football matches, aren’t a welcoming space for them.

Colin Macfarlane, Director of Stonewall Scotland, said: “We are delighted that SPFL clubs are supporting our Rainbow Laces campaign, and by doing so, standing with LGBT football fans across Scotland.

“We want to see fans make similar commitments and become active allies to LGBT people by creating a welcoming environment and challenging abuse. Many LGBT people want to take part in football, either as players or fans, but abuse from a small minority makes many people feel unsafe.

“We look forward to working alongside the SPFL and clubs across Scotland to help make football everyone’s game.”

Celtic captain, Scott Brown said: “This year’s campaign once again addresses a very important issue which needs to be tackled. Therefore, we are delighted to once again support the Rainbow Laces campaign and promote the very important message that sport is for all.”

We can only stop homophobic, biphobic and transphobic behaviour and language from happening in football by showing that it is not acceptable, at every level of the game.

We are dedicated to eradicating any forms of homophobic, biphobic or transphobic behaviour and making sure Celtic Football Club is a place where LGBT fans can be safe and accepted.

We need you to stand with us as allies to LGBT people.

Find out more at www.stonewall.org.uk/rainbowlaces

Tam Cowan, 9 Jun 2007

THE LESBIAN LIONS IF you think Celtic launching their own ladies’ football team is just an excuse for cheap jokes about The Lesbian Lions you’d be wrong. Nope, I only mention it because there’s one important question I would like to ask. How long do you think it will be before the players start moaning about the hoops on their new jerseys making them look fat?

(Clear sign that some idiots have not progressed)