Fear of discrimination is stopping LGBTQ+ youth playing sport, study finds – Gay Times Magazine
A new study has revealed that fear of discrimination is prohibiting LGBTQ+ youth from participating in sport.
According to research released on 15 September by the Trevor Project, one in three LGBTQ+ young people said they participate in sports.
This is a stark difference from the more than 50% of America’s general population who said they do take part in sport.
Part of this is attributed to almost one in five (18%) LGBTQ+ youth who do get involved sharing that they have heard negative comments from athletic officials at their institutions in relation to transgender and queer people.
The locker room was found to be the biggest source of fear for LGBTQ+ athletes, with one respondent saying that those around her “think I’ll stare at them/hit on them because I’m lesbian.”
A second said: “The locker room was always a nightmare, the athletic kids at my school hated me, the coaches at my school hated me, and as much as I didn’t care for a lot of mainstream sports in general, I avoided athletic activities out of terror, not disinterest.”
Another explained that they “never hated sports, but I hated how I was treated by kids and adults who played sports.”
It was determined that trans and non-binary young people were at “huge risk of bullying” due to a lack of inclusiveness in sport making their involvement more complicated.
So far, at least nine American states such as Florida and Arkansas have introduced anti-trans sports bills that are now law.