Baseball and Its LGBT Fans: At the Crossroads of Progress

[u/[deleted]]

"Why are you going to so many Cubs games? Why do /you/ care?"

-said by too many people to count

"You know you're gay, right?"

-said by a friend after seeing me decked out in Cubs gear

"I swear, there are more faggots here every season."

-Asshole next to me on the El

"We get it you suck dick. But stay out of sports."

-A different asshole near me at a game

"Now, why do they have to do that here..."

-An uncomfortable mother the row behind a guy I was holding hands with

LGBT baseball fans are queer, they're here, and the MLB needs to get used to it. While players are overwhelmingly ready for gay teammates, ownership, marketing and fans in the stadium have been hesitant to accept that there are many LGBT baseball fans. Baseball executives have been obsessed with getting young people more interested in the game, while ignoring that fact that Major League Baseball does very little to encourage interest in kids who will grow up to be LGBT. The last five years especially have seen historic growth in LGBT rights, but the sports world has mostly failed to adjust.

Teams like the Padres, Mets, and Cubs have pride-themed days and even have floats in their cities' pride parades. This is a great start. There is a huge market to be tapped into, and a large group of people who would otherwise be interested in the game who feel that they do not have a place at the table. I don't appear stereotypically gay, and several times have had fellow fans near me at ballgames pass indescribably homophobic remarks, not realizing I am gay. Of course, assholes will be assholes but there is a "macho" attitude still pervasive in the experience of going to a baseball game that is unacceptable.

A clear marketing shift and engaging in things like pride events, not permitting hateful homophobic remarks from patrons at the stadiums, simply not kicking out or reprimanding same-sex couples who happen to kiss in public, and penalizing players further for homophobic actions and remarks could go a long way in encouraging new fans from different walks of life to join in this amazing game.

I write this not to play the victim. I'm a happy, proud LGBT baseball fan and I've been able to brush off the negative experiences I have had because of that combination. But it is something that has been on my mind after years of being a gay baseball fan, and this symposium seems like the right time to share my thoughts and start a conversation. I truly love this subreddit and think that some discussion will be helpful to a lot of people, including myself.

I write this to admit the fact that I do not feel very comfortable participating in my favorite sport live because of an ingrained culture of macho homophobia. Things are absolutely moving in the right direction, and as young people grow up to become players and other MLB professionals I believe this attitude will change. But for now, baseball (and all professional sports) must make a place for its marginalized fans. Societally, people are permitted more than ever to be their true selves, and otherwise great institutions like the MLB and its fans must go with this tide or see the game become stagnant.

Other interesting reading on this topic:

LGBT Inclusion In Major League Baseball Is Long Overdue

With Gay Fans, Major League Baseball Strikes Out Looking

Out Sports

[u/superplatypus57 → u/[deleted]]

^{Right when I thought I was done reading this thread, you pull me back in}

Oh man I'd almost forgotten about that one.

If an insult can be read as "that person is like a woman," it's dumb and pointlessly hurtful to everyone. Shit's simple, usually ^{usually usually}

[u/hannahmadamhannah → u/superplatypus57]

Hey - it's you! Did you feel that way with Gibbons's comments at the beginning of the season about playing in dresses? Personally, I didn't like it, and I think the direct correlation is pretty evident, but I also may be more predisposed to be easily irritated at that kind of thing.

[u/superplatypus57 → u/hannahmadamhannah]

Oh totally felt the same way about Gibbon's dress comments. I agree with you that this language use represents some assumed cultural values that are troubling, to say the least.

But, like you say, maybe I am more predisposed to be irritated by it. I try not to respond in anger or in outrage; I just don't wear it well and find it better to call people out when they say something obviously bad. Change starts small, especially if we're talking about sports fans on the internet.

[u/nastylep → u/superplatypus57]

Out of curiosity, where do you come down on the phrase, "he throws like a girl?"

[u/hannahmadamhannah → u/nastylep]

I know you were asking /u/superplatypus57 but I personally detest it. The implication is that a. women throw weakly, or poorly, and that b. the person who is doing the throwing is being effeminate in his (or her!) throw, or at the very least has no idea what he or she is doing.

I think it's true that there are more men who know how to throw a baseball properly than women, but that's in part because women - for years - were explicitly and culturally directed away from sports. They were never given the chance to learn! And once they do, there's no reason they can't throw correctly, or with force or precision.

In short, it basically equates being a girl with doing something wrong or poorly, and it says that femininity is undesirable.

[u/hannahmadamhannah → u/[deleted]]

That was excellent. I really appreciate the way he explained it calmly, leaving pretty much no room for argument.

I love words, and in many, I think words which people interpret to be "offensive" are probably okay given the context, which I find especially important to interpretation of intent/meaning. However, more than anything, I think it's worth examining what words do mean - in a vacuum, in a context, in a larger culture. Because meanings of words are at the very least a reflection of a set of values that are/were important in the context of the word.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

What a fucking pussyeater

[u/nastylep → u/[deleted]]

I realize this is a joke, but I've honestly heard "muffdiver" used in the same context.