Gender Bias and Homophobia in Sports

Goals

Identify qualities that students associate with male and female athletes ;

Identify the attitudes students have about gender, sexual orientation, and athletics ;

Understand what stereotypes are and how they harm and limit people ;

Find positive images that show men and women that have qualities that students did not see as “positive” for each gender.

Brief description of the issue

The world of sport and physical activity is strongly stereotypical and divided in function of gender. It is also a place where a lot of gender stereotypes are reproduced: “running/throwing/playing like a girl”, positive reinforcement of boys, link between masculinity and sport, etc. For students who are moving away from the stereotypes associated with their gender, physical education classes can be a place of bullying which is, most of the time, homophobic bullying. It is therefore very important to make sure we create a safe space for all children where they can liberate their potential in sport and physical activity, no matter what their gender is, through hands-on activities like this one.

The Teaching Tolerance website has put together a variety of classroom resources in many social justice domains and on multiple topics. The mission of this organization is “to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy” by providing them free resources.

The Gender Bias and Homophobia in Sports activity, according to the website, “discusses common characteristics and stereotypes that are associated with athletes.”

Access the full lesson plan by clicking on this link.