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Men, masculinities and sexualities

Anderson, E.; McCormack, M.; Ripley, M.

Authors

E. Anderson

M. McCormack

M. Ripley



Contributors

M. Sartore-Baldwin
Editor

Abstract

Blake’s Story Blake’s 6’4, 190-pound body shuffled up and down the basketball court as squeaks echoed below him from the wooden floors of his high school gym. Although only a sophomore at the time, Blake drew coverage from local media and praise from his community for being one of the most talented players in Indiana (Anderson, 2005b). The rest of his team had gone home, but Blake remained on the court shooting basket after basket. Although having no dreams of superstardom when he began playing basketball, Blake believed that shooting hoop offered the chance of a college scholarship. However, he wanted this scholarship not just to improve his playing ability, but to escape the confines of the homophobic Midwest: “Basketball is my ticket out of here,” Blake said, as he yearned to live in a more liberal, metropolitan city. Blake first picked up basketball unwillingly in the fourth grade, as he sought to raise his social standing amongst his peers: I was actually more interested in books, but that’s not really cool. I mean I really hated basketball; I’d rather read a book, but other boys didn’t do that. Everybody played basketball, and I wanted to fit in, so I did it too. While Blake used sporting participation to raise his popularity, he also found it a haven from being socially perceived as gay. Realizing that most boys think basketball players cannot be gay, Blake used his sporting skill to avoid homophobia.

Citation

Anderson, E., McCormack, M., & Ripley, M. (2013). Men, masculinities and sexualities. In M. Sartore-Baldwin (Ed.), Sexual minorities in sport : prejudice at play (31-54). Lynne Rienner

Publication Date 2013
Deposit Date Sep 10, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Pages 31-54
Book Title Sexual minorities in sport : prejudice at play.
Chapter Number 3
ISBN 9781588268907
Publisher URL https://www.rienner.com/title/Sexual_Minorities_in_Sports_Prejudice_at_Play