May 1998
Lambda
Page 3
In the Closet or on
the Field: Queer
Women in Sports
by Maia R. Kaplan
Women in ^its have an
unique stumbling block on the way to
professional status. Homof^obia has
found a major haven in sports and
sports administration. For many, the
tension comes when a sport is publicly
seen as dominated by lesbians.
Recognizing that the percentage of
lesbians and bisexual women in sports
is going to be significantly higher than
that of the general population should
not be an issue. However, fear among
marketers, coaches, and players sets
up a chasm between a hard to ignore
lesbian/bisexual following of women
sports, often the main sustaining group
in ticket sales, and the pressure within
the game to stay in the closet.
According to a national
sportswriter quoted in Susan Fox
Roger’s Sportscfykes, “After covering
women’s golf for the past ten years, I
can tell you what the L stands for in
LGPA. The tournaments are very big
with the gay crowd But get one of
these gals to stand up and say she’s a
lesbian publicly, and she’s out of the
game.” Even within the media and
administration, it’s very difficult to
open a dialogue about the impact of
queer women in pro women’s sports,
as is evitknced by this sportswriter’s
insistence on remaining nameless.
Also, those that will speak readily
aren’t very positive, such ^ Margaret
Court, a fonner tennis star who
warned parents against letting their
dau^ters play the tennis circuit
because they would be converted to
Lesbianism. She especially blamed the
“lesbian bisexual players on the
circuit”, claiming they’re the ones who
get at the youngsters with their
example” (Rogers). But isn’t such
homophobia fading with time and the
growing acceptance of women’s
sports? The number of girls being
raised that believe playing sports is a
normal thing for girls to do is
growing. Surely this institutionalized
homophobia is seeing the end of its
day?
Well, that’s what I thought;
tHit, sadly, I was wrong. Upon opening
The Advocate to the “Grassroots”
article, 1 discovered that fear and
Wame still exists in full force. A wd?
site for the American Basketball
League (ABL), one of two professional
leagues for women, began to receive a
group of posting for a discussion
forum under the heading “Fans Who
Are Like Ellen.” The "ABL has, in the
past, done nothing to deny their
lesbian following. However, the web
site began removing messages with
this heading, as well as censoring the
word “lesbian.” If the site received a
message containing the word
“lesbian,” the sender received the
following message, “Sorry, your
message contains one or more
inai^opriate word(s). Please remove
any words which may be offensive.”
Although those interested in the
discussion quickly changed the
heading and began writing about
“l*sbi*ns,” many were disheartened by
the attempted censoring. Wrote one
fan, “Until our culture can get over the
stereotypes of female athletes as all
l*sbi*ns, the prospects of pro leagues
will continue to be precarious.”
In the league’s defense, when
they discovered that the webmaster
was committing such blatant
' censoring, they immediately ordered it
stOCT>ed, and the ABL has now left the
forum unmoderated. Director of media
relations. Dean Jutilla, claimed that,
“We don’t want to alienate any fan of
the league.”
Despite the league’s quick
fix, to me it’s just more proof of the
hidden homqjhobia that never seems
to be discussed. Despite suRX)rt from
some leagues or coaches, there is still
an obvious effort on someone’s part to
keep the “Fans Who Are Like Ellen”
quiet.
Here’s to the “l*sbi*ns” who
keep speaking up. X
Mel White Praying for the Pit Preacher
Photograph by Mike Kanarek
' ■’•iffiM’ini'