LGBTQ+ women and their experiences of rugby

Let's delve into some research. How inclusive is rugby?

Recently, Premiership Rugby (the top men’s league in England) hosted it’s annual Pride weekend. Each team posted an image and a statement to social media in support of the weekend. (The video above is from the 2024 weekend). I was amazed to find a large amount of people negatively commenting.

Going through searches to find out any new research for female rugby, I came across a piece of work published this year about LGBTQ+ women’s experiences of inclusion and exclusion in rugby in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I know from my own experiences that being within women’s rugby can be an incredibly inclusive experience. I also know that outside of that women’s rugby space, rugby can be exclusionary.

Conducted by Sally Shaw, the research aims to explore the “experiences of lesbian, bisexual, gay, takatāpui, queer, and allies (LGBTQ+) women in rugby in Aotearoa/New Zealand.” To form the research, a survey was sent out to women who were aged 18+.

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The survey revealed that women’s rugby is inclusive for players. Respondants commented that women’s rugby felt welcoming towards LGBTQ+ people and was a space where diverse body shapes were celebrated.

However, the survey also showed that there is currently limits to that inclusion. Players who identified as LGBTQ+ and their partners felt welcomed inside women’s rugby. Outside of that space, there is still a negative perception around women’s rugby.

Although internally, women’s rugby is incredibly welcoming and proud to celebrate all its players, there is an external stereotype that every player is LGBTQ+. This stereotype is then weaponised as a slur against women’s rugby and its members.

I’ve experienced this during my playing years: “oh so you’re all lesbians then!” Phrases like this aren’t used to celebrate inclusivity. This perception, especially when held by someone external to women’s rugby or a women’s rugby team, becomes a slur.

According to Shaw, these harmful perceptions make it uncomfortable for women who are out, those who aren’t out and anyone looking to join the sport:

“I would say there is still the misconception or stereotype surrounding the idea of women playing rugby. The idea that most or all female rugby players are masculine and/or apart of the LGBTQ+ community (particularly lesbian) simply for being involved in a male-dominated sport.” - participant in research

Writing the research, Sally Shaw states that these assumptions and labels is a way of removing power from a group of people. Shaw also goes on to explain how one respondant and her partner experienced homophobia through the team selection.

Away from the pitch, rugby clubhouses feel unwelcome. This is often the case for women and potentially even more so for a queer person:

“Local rugby clubs make me uncomfortable. They are very old school in the way that they operate. There’s often no [commemorative pictures of] women on the walls and you’d certainly never see a rainbow flag.

A lot of the male teams and older men attached to clubs always seem surprised to see women in the space. This is only compounded by being a visible queer woman. The way you are watched is more intense, particularly if I have my partner with me.” - participant in research

There were positives in the research. Younger male club members were more open and welcoming. However, this also displays a potential area for tension between the younger and older club members.

There are a range of suggestions for how rugby could be more inclusive for LGBTQ+ women:

• Raising awareness about the LGBTQ+ community

• Education to make clubs safer places

• Changing the clubs to ensure they’re not male-orientated

• Challenging homophobic language when heard (and having a process for this)

The education suggestion is the key to unlocking the other improvements. Without education, people might not have the structures in place or the confidence to address homophobic language. They also will need toolkits to help raise awareness of the LGBTQ+ community.

Having education for managers and coaches also means a player will feel confident to speak to someone if they feel themselves or their partner is being excluded via team selection or at training due to their sexuality.

There are also possibilities within this that have benefits for the whole club and community. If the club feels more welcoming to all, then more people will use the clubhouse as a hub.

Clubs could also look into larger links with the LGBTQ+ community. Women’s teams often attend pride, but that’s usually the extent of rugby clubs’ involvement.

Check out UK Coaching: UK Coaching Duty To Care includes diversity and inclusion as 2 of it’s 6 pillars

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