The concepts underpinning everyday gendered homophobia based upon the experiences of lesbian coaches

This study focuses upon conceptualizing everyday gendered homophobia based upon the narratives of 10 lesbian coaches in the UK, connecting their stories of everyday inferiorizations to wider structural practices. This theory highlights that lesbians in sport and coaching continue to encounter marginalization through their gendered sexual identity. The participants recounted experiences such as being treated as paedophiles or predators, constructed as less able leaders and less knowledgeable than male coaches. Oppressive structural practices that influenced such experiences included inflexible or gendered professional development opportunities, apathetic stances towards welfare issues, inadequate sociocultural coach education and a culture of ‘unspoken truths’ that suppressed discussions of sexuality. The gender-blindness and sexuality-blindness cultures of governing bodies for how these ideologies allow organizations to ignore the construction of male privilege, heterosexism and homophobia and the impact on everyday lives of lesbian coaches are highlighted.