Are male gymnasts usually gay

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Two-time Olympic gymnast Danell Leyva says that, for him, stereotypes surrounding his sport may have been one of the biggest obstacles to his coming out as a member of the LGBTQ community. There are several stories of elite gymnasts being called gay in the US by random people just for being in gymnastics.

And a number of the national team are very open about their right wing politics. Yet some sports, like gymnastics and figure skating, have been dubbed by our culture as “feminine” sports. The men in these sports are either largely assumed to be gay, or their sexuality is. Though Phillips is the only out gymnast at Illinois, he should feel right at home. McCool and Manivong are two steadfast allies, taking various stances in recent years for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Earlier this month on National Coming Out Day, Danell took to Twitter and expanded on his journey of how he knew he wasn't straight, letting his fans know that identifies as bisexual/pansexual. We aim to break boundaries, think outside of binaries and build bridges within our communities and beyond. Stay connected, and tell a friend. It was much more nerve-racking that way. For Steele, the Pride meet was a turning point.

She came out to her teammates as bisexual at the last practice before the meet. And gymnasts are sticking their necks out more and more: over the last 12 weeks of the season, at least 12 teams have hosted Pride meets, including top powerhouses like Florida and UCLA. These Pride meets and queer athletes represent a sea change for gymnastics, a sport where policing the gender binary is baked into the very structure of the sport.

MAG and WAG athletes compete in different events: men compete on six floor, vault, pommel horse, high bar, parallel bar, rings ; women compete on four vault, uneven bars, beam, floor. Trans and non-binary athletes are mostly out of luck: there is no real gender-neutral option in gymnastics, which means athletes who transition must either learn a new discipline, or train in a discipline that does not match their gender identity.

Even in the events the disciplines have in common like floor , the performance style and skill set could not be further apart. WAG athletes perform to music, and their routines include dance elements like leaps, turns and jumps. MAG floor takes place entirely in silence, sans dance elements. Gymnastics was one of the first Olympic sports to include female competitors, in large part because the International Olympic Committee saw gymnastics as a suitably feminine sport.

Aware of the precarity of their admission to the Olympics, gymnastics authorities shaped the sport to conform to gendered expectations for female athletes. Unlike most sports, where fandom tends to trend male, a large segment of fans in gymnastics are young girls and queer adults. In other words, gymnastics is a rare sport that values performance and femininity.

Aesthetics are a critical part of gymnastics: the leotard itself is an event for college teams, with each new leotard necessitating an unveiling on social media with a photo shoot, a video and loud fan reactions. Even the coaching staff get into the spirit of things: female coaches are often so dressed up that their heels are in danger of puncturing holes in the floor mats.

Steele concurs. Yet, even as college gymnastics sees an increase in queer representation, major problems remain. Gender policing continues: Jackson Harrison, a non-binary college athlete competing in MAG, was told by their coach they could not wear makeup during competition. Meanwhile, the spectre of legislation barring discussions of sexuality in higher education raises the question of whether it will be safe to put on Pride meets at all.

Steele has never worried about backlash to Pride meets. Her work focuses on the intersections of science fiction, fandom, sports and social justice. Communication not private: Your email will be forwarded to the writer by an Xtra editor. Skip to content. Need A Suggestion? We got You Subscribe Now. Follow Us: facebook. More From This Contributor. Corrections or Feedback?