Professor Suen Yiu-tung, Associate Professor of Gender Studies Programme, CUHK, was interviewed by South China Morning Post about the right to sports participation for #LGBTQ people on 18 November.

Less than a year before Hong Kong co-hosts the Gay Games, new research findings by my team released today reveal that among the 884 lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer plus (LGBQ+) respondents in Hong Kong:

• 30% of them had experienced assault during PE classes.
• 47.4% of them said that homophobia in the sports sector are common or very common.
• One-fourth of them said they had experienced bullying because of being perceived as a sexual minority in sports or fitness settings.
• Among the respondents who said they had participated in a sports team before (42.6% of the respondents, n = 377), 57% of them had not come out to anyone at all.

There has been much debate in Hong Kong about the city hosting the Gay Games in 2023, the first time the event will be held in Asia. Over the past two decades, academic studies, and studies by sports agencies and government health departments, around the world have documented that homophobia, biphobia and transphobia remain rampant in sports settings for LGBTQ+ adolescents in school, as well as for LGBTQ+ adults in both leisure and competitive settings.

This study is the first to provide empirical evidence that a substantial proportion of LGBQ+ people in Hong Kong often feel unsafe or are actively excluded in sports settings.

Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sports settings have harmful consequences. They adversely affect LGBTQ+ people’s participation and performance in sports. They make it difficult for LGBTQ+ athletes to come out to their coach and team members. They do not only hinder authentic relationships from being built, but also drastically affect LGBTQ+ people’s performance as they have to divert their attention from performing at their absolute best to hiding who they are and questioning themselves. Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia make some LGBTQ+ people give up sports altogether.

Everyone should have the right to sports participation, health and well-being, including LGBTQ+ people.

媒體報導：

Hong Kong’s LGBT community struggles for acceptance in sports and fitness industries, Chinese University survey shows