To be please that an openly gay footballer

[Henuinequest]

Has won I’m a celeb? Particularly with all the controversy over the World Cup in Qatar …
she seems lovely and genuine too…

Well I think people that actually follow women's football are a bit bemused by it being portrayed as as homophobic as the men's game. Lots of our players and players don't tend to report the extreme behaviour that is allowed and encouraged in the men's game.

I'd hope Jill's inclusion would mean more.people actually watch and follow the women's teams rather than considering them as a poor man's version of the men's.

Lots of out players*

I think there's quite a few openly gay female footballers? There doesn't seem to be the same rife homophobia in the women's game as there is in the men's.

Women's football needs to catch up with the men's game in so many ways but actually when it comes to gay rights, it's the one thing that they're ahead on.

@ExhaustedFlamingo its unusual in sport and a good thing. So many gay sports women ( I’m looking at you tennis) feel they can’t come out because they’ll lose their sponsorship.

Women's football is superior to men's in a lot of ways.
Less appalling on pitch aggressive behaviour.
More focus on talent that brute strength.
Current England line up work seamlessly as a team, no divas hogging the glory.
Few stories of drugs or crime in their personal lives.
Won the euros.
Competent manager.
Less drama, more talent.
Work for a modest wage and voluntary previously, so motivated by love of the game and not money. Should be paid more though.

Don't think they should be imitating the men's too much.

Not quite the same. It’s almost just assumed a lot of female footballers are gay. Definitely not the case with male footballers, the two are currently worlds apart and generally have very different fan bases.

I found her nice but really quite dull to watch, I thought she'd go out quite early but OH thought she'd win. Mind you Matt Hancock came third so god knows who's voting or what for. I'd have liked Mike to win.

Jill said herself
Your sexuality doesnt define you

There’s not homophobia in women’s sport/football, it’s widely open and accepted.

Openly gay male footballers would be of note.

Women’s football also differs from mens in that the England team actually win…

Exactly, it's almost like it's rooted in toxic masculinity.

Again, feels like op is trying to lay the blame of homophobia elsewhere when it is largely problem that originates in male attitudes and goes hand in hand with misogyny.

Post the same thing on a largely male forum and the comments would overwhelmingly be:

Women can't play football
Disgusting sexual comments fetishising lesbianism.
Weird religious posts about why it's against God.
Personal comments slagging off female players appearance, playing into the whole 'only ugly women are gay' trope.

Jill herself said that homophobia is rife in men’s football but being gay is accepted in women’s.

I think it's irrelevant, and it's a bit daft to think 'oooh I'm glad she won coz she's gay!' That's like people who used to vote for a certain act on X Factor even if they were shit, just because they lived in the same county as said act.

Louis Walsh would say about Dave from Nottingham... 'I want everybody in Nottingham to get behind Dave and vote for him!' I mean never mind that Dave sounds like a screeching cat. Weird analogy I know, but it just reminds me of that. I support her because she's gay. Why? 'ooh but she's nice and down to earth as well.' Well so were some of the others, but you want her to win coz she's gay?

Weird.

You found Jill more boring than Mike???

She was at first @PinkSyCo but then snapped out of it and made lots of witty cracks. In her final interview she said she was censoring herself because of her gran but reverted to type.

God knows who kept voting for cuddly Mike Tindall - he of the weary sigh: "Oh, all right then, I'll talk about being in the Royal Family but only because you all asked"; inappropriate touching of women and beta males; and a vicious, deliberate and potentially back-breaking rugger tackle on Matt Hancock in the Cyclone.

I'm so glad he missed the final. He must have been gutted.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not knocking it. It’s always good to have a positive role model, the more the merrier! I just don’t think it’s a particularly pivotal moment in the same way that it would be if a male footballer came out as gay.

And actually it’s really positive that there’s so much nonchalance around lesbians in football. A person’s sexuality shouldn’t be a talking point or relevant to their sporting prowess.

I can think of lots of lesbians across a variety of sports, but far less so gay men. I’m not suggesting there’s never any homophobia in any female sport, but women’s sports are in general way ahead of men’s in this regard.

I was referencing being given the same exposure, financial backing, merch deals etc. In some sports the mens and womens game is more or less on a par but football has a long way to go.

I don’t think it’s necessarily helpful to compare directly to the mens game otherwise we fall into the same trap of harmful tropes. There are plenty of positives about the men’s game too. I don’t need to lift up the female game by pulling the men’s game down.

I see men and womens football as similar to tennis - they are quite different in many aspects because of biology. But both can be enjoyed and appreciated. We just need to develop the same breadth and depth of talent in womens football that we have in the mens game but it’s happening.

Your other post re toxic masculinity I think really hits the nail on the head. I think there’s a lot of that within mens football - the fans as much as the players. Female pundits are only acceptable if they’re glammed up and attractive like Alex Scott. And the comments re womens football are dripping with misogyny.

‘I think it's irrelevant, and it's a bit daft to think 'oooh I'm glad she won coz she's gay!’

perhaps that’s because you aren’t a 50 year old lesbian who grew up with absolutely zero gay role models whatsoever… being gay was something to be ashamed of, to hide and to be mocked - still is for many people.

@Henuinequest

Thankfully homophobia isn't a particular issue in women's sports. In team sports in particular, if anything gay women are over represented (not that it matters, only their sporting prowess matters!) I know there was a married couple on the England hockey squad for instance.

In amateur womens football, in DD's experience it's about half and half

@ExhaustedFlamingo I definitely agree that comparison is not really necessary, however I wrote that list as I misread your post as a 'need to try harder' tone that sadly often is used against women's football.

I think the openess about homosexuality in the women's game tells you a lot about the players, managers and fanbase and tells me the men's game could do with learning how to create an open and friendly environment like that.

Jill was a great contestant (as was Owen). Genuine, scandal free, funny, not too much bad language. Well deserved.

@Mariposista agreed in spades!

Heard from where?

If people don't think that 20 years ago a lesbian footballer on a reality TV show wouldn't have received a lot of hate you are deluded.
I used to hang out with a lot of women footballers back in the early 2000s. Some of the shit they used to get with horrific by the press and on the pitch from "fans".
The press would have made a big thing of it and it would have been all about the fact she was a gay footballer.
It's all very well saying I didn't know she was gay or her being gay isn't significant. I think that is probably the point the OP is making.

It shouldn't matter it should never have mattered. BUT it used to matter hugely as the press were terrible and any gay public figure recieved so much hate (and still do online). Around much of the world people still do. Anyone that thinks it is irrelevant are lucky.
I am so happy times are slowly moving on.

Ahhhhhh I hadn't watched it yet. Guess I know the winner now.