Homophobia and transphobia in a sample of Movement Sciences students: Implications for physical education teachers and coaches

Gender and sexual stereotypes and prejudices are pervasive in sport contexts and used to preserve male superiority, relegating what is not masculine to a lower status. These stereotypes and biases are firmly rooted in sport also because they are constantly renewed and reinforced by athletic trainers, who may teach, along with sports practice, the underpinning heteronormative ideologies and values as well. The current study was aimed at exploring knowledge, opinions, and attitudes on gender and sexual diversity in sport among 181 Movement Sciences university students compared to 169 university students attending Psychology, Medicine, and Sociology. Participants answered questions related to gender and sexual diversity, homophobia, and transphobia and data were analyzed through student’s t-tests and linear regressions. Results indicated that Movement Sciences university students had a lower level of knowledge about sexual and gender diversity, and this was associated with higher levels of homophobic and transphobic attitudes. The results suggest the need to introduce specific training in degree courses to deconstruct stereotypes and prejudices around sexual and gender diversity.