Journal article
"A Group of Guys is Enough to Really Scare Me in General": Sexual Minorities' Vetting of Athletic Spaces
Recreational sports journal, v 47(2), pp 126-135
01 Oct 2023
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Athletic spaces are often perceived as unwelcoming by sexual minority (SM) athletes, contributing to disparities in sports persistence in early adulthood. Further examination of how SM navigate decisions about sports participation during the transition to college is needed to develop and maintain inclusive campus athletic offerings, including recreational sports. By analyzing interview data from 23 SM college students, we found that SM find supportive athletic community through important vetting of these spaces prior to initiation. SM look at two aspects of a program's makeup-its' values and visible diversity of its members-through one's own personal "vibe check" either in-person or online. SM men in particular look for gender "outsiders," as all-male spaces threaten their perceived safety. Among those who had previously dropped out of sports, finding mixed-gender teams through this vetting process provided promise for an eventual return to sport, highlighting the importance of recreational sports in engaging underrepresented groups of athletes.
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Details
- Title
- "A Group of Guys is Enough to Really Scare Me in General": Sexual Minorities' Vetting of Athletic Spaces
- Creators
- Casper H. Voyles - Drexel UniversityShelby Spohn - Drexel UniversityKaylee Wilson - Drexel Univ, Dept Community Hlth & Prevent, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USARandall Sell - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Recreational sports journal, v 47(2), pp 126-135
- Publisher
- Sage
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- NIRSA Foundation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Sociology; Community Health and Prevention
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001015458100001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85163990325
- Other Identifier
- 991021895788604721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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- Web of Science research areas
- Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism