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this is a draft of a research paper for a women's studies class. posted here for reference/posterity.

Hegemonic Femininity and the Stigma of Lesbians in Sport

In Krane et. al’s article Living the Paradox: Female Athletes Negotiate Femininity and Muscularity, it is stated that hegemonic femininity is “constructed within a White, heterosexual, and class-based structure, and it has strong associations with heterosexual sex and romance” (Ussher, 1997). Krane explains that hegemonic femininity “has a strong emphasis on appearance with the dominant notion of an ideal feminine body as thin and toned” (Krane et. al, 2004, p.316). This ideal is perpetuated through the media by “[producing] homogenous (i.e., similar) images that combine and erase differences” between different female bodies, which forces women to believe that only “feminine women are accepted, appreciated, and respected in Western culture” (Bordo, 1993). The purpose of this paper is to explore the socializing effect of hegemonic femininity on female athletes and the resulting stigma on lesbians in sport.

In order to understand the stigma and discrimination on lesbians in sport, it is important to understand what it means to be a female participant in a male institution. Organized sport was created in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century mainly for White, middle class men to sustain the idea of “natural superiority” over women, race, and class-subordinated groups of men (Crosset et. al, 1990). According to Crosset in his article Sport in the Social Construction of Masculinity, sport is named as a male institution because of “the values and behavioral norms it promotes and ultimately naturalizes both on the field and in organizational hierarchies” (1990, p.20). Some of these norms include the “development of physical presence, stoic courage in the endurance of pain, and judgment under pressure” (p.21). This is against the norms of hegemonic femininity, which requires women to have the ideal thin, toned body and to be “ladylike” in appearance and behavior (Hargreaves, 1993, p.63). However, female athletes are expected to maintain their femininity while “distancing themselves from behavior perceived as masculine” (Krane, 2004, p.316). In order to be successful, female athletes “must be powerful and strong,” but “obvious signs of this power are construed negatively, as contradicting hegemonic femininity” (p.317). Krane notes that “female athletes who perform femininity correctly accrue power and privilege” while “female athletes perceived as masculine are labeled as social deviants” and experience discrimination (p.316).

So what does this mean for lesbians in sport? In Krane’s article Lesbians in Sport: Toward Acknowledgement, Understanding, and Theory, she states that the sport is hostile toward all women, even more so for lesbians, and “[escalates] the negative impact of homonegativism experienced by lesbians in sport compared to non-sport lesbians” (Krane, 1996). In this case, homonegativism describes “purposeful, not irrational, negative attitudes and behaviors toward non-heterosexuals” and is sometimes manifested in the way authorities in sport “feel denying the existence of lesbians will ‘protect the image’ of women’s sport.”

This homonegativism towards lesbians is sustained in our heterosexist society, which “denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community” and is the “belief that heterosexuality is the only acceptable mode of social interactions and sexuality.” Since sport is a “patriarchal institution and is considered a masculine domain in our society,” it perpetuates negative perceptions of lesbians and “promotes compulsory heterosexuality,” which results in the “creation and maintenance of a hostile sport environment for lesbians.” Ultimately, lesbians in sport will then become “conditioned to, accept, and react to these homonegative attitudes” most likely in a negative way. These negative reactions manifest through mental states such as low self-esteem, low confidence, and high levels of stress; or through behavior, such as poor sport performance or even substance abuse.

Perhaps the biggest problem that lesbians (and athletic women) face in sport is the question of their femininity and lesbian stereotyping: “to be athletic is equated with masculinity and masculine women are labeled as lesbian,” therefore, “athletic women are stereotyped as lesbian.” Krane explains that “invoking the lesbian label is tantamount to discrediting all of women’s sport, insinuating that successful athletic performances are due to ‘unnatural advantages’ (i.e., ‘real’ women cannot be good athletes).” The stigma that comes with being labeled as lesbian often results in many female athletes to fear association with it, thus “as long as females fear stigmatization and reprisal because of sport accomplishments, they will not be free to fully test their skills and achieve their potential.”

In the article Leering Leaching and Lowdown: Demonizing Lesbians in Sport, Pat Griffin further explains that the lesbian stereotype or the “lesbian bogeywoman” image “thrives as a simplistic and inaccurate representation of lesbian identity in women’s sport” and is the only female athletic stereotype that is not only a threat to “normal”, heterosexual women in sport but to the image and acceptance of women’s sport in general (1998). As a result, “the lesbian label is an effective tool for social control in women’s sport” which is manifested in the frequency of heterosexual girls dropping out of team sports over lesbians.

The stigmatism of lesbians causes a rift between lesbians and other women in sport and ignores the socialization of hegemonic femininity, heterosexism, and homonegativity in sports and society. Ultimately, the lesbian stereotype along with the fear and discomfort in causes in women reproduces masculinity and male dominance in sport and in society in general.