Attitudes of Taiwan and Hong Kong collegiate student athletes towards homosexuality in sport participation

Abstract

This study was conducted to understand the attitudes of Taiwanese and Hong Kong collegiate student athletes (CSAs) towards homosexuality in sport participation, and to explore whether the gender of the CSAs and the sport they were involved in were affected by aspects such as campus climate, team support, and stigma. The participants included 259 Taiwanese and 193 Hong Kong CSAs, with a gender split of 55.53% female and 44.47% male. Of these athletes, 43.36% participated in contact sports, and 56.64% participated in noncontact sports. The results revealed three themes. First, both the Taiwanese and Hong Kong CSAs had positive attitudes towards gay and lesbian, and significant gender differences were observed in the aspects of campus climate, team support, and stigma. Second, no significant sports differences were observed in Taiwanese CSAs, but significant sports differences were found in the aspect of campus climate among the Hong Kong CSAs. Finally, no significant gender and sports differences were observed in the aspects of campus climate, team support, and stigma. Future studies are recommended to include participants from other Asian countries to understand the regional sports cultural differences towards gay and lesbian people. The results and information derived from such studies could facilitate the development of strategies for creating inclusive sports environments.

Keywords:

• Homophobia
• campus climate
• stigma
• student athlete
• gay and lesbian