The Re-production of Homosexually Themed Discourse in Educationally-Based Organised Sport.

In this qualitative research, we use one year of participant observation and 12 in-depth interviews of the men on a highly-ranked University rugby team in England in order to nuance the theoretical understandings of the re-production of homosexually-themed discourse in organised sport. Data collected through this ethnographic investigation is used to inductively theorise the complex relationship between language, homosocial masculine relationships and organised sport. In examining the political, intentional and inadvertent effects of these men’s discourses, we define and discuss the notion of gay discourse as a form of heteronormativity that is distinct from the well-established traditional use of homophobic discourse. Highlighting that homosexually-themed discourse is best understood as a continuum, we stress the importance of context in interpreting the meaning and effect of discourse when used in men’s teamsport settings.