In The Game: Gay Athletes And The Cult Of Masculinity (S U N Y Series on Sport, Culture, and Social Relations)

Examines the relationship between gay male athletes, sport, and American masculinity.

Using interviews with openly gay and closeted team-sport athletes, Eric Anderson examines how homophobia is reproduced in sport, how gay male athletes navigate this, and how American masculinity is changing. By detailing individual experiences, Anderson shows how these athletes are emerging from their athletic closets and contesting the dominant norms of masculinity. From the locker rooms of high school sports, where the atmosphere of “don’t ask, don’t tell” often exists, to the unique circumstances that gay athletes encounter in professional team sports, this book analyzes the agency that openly gay athletes possess to change their environments.