Homosexuality in sport

Homosexuality as a tabu subject still creates agitation in developed western society. In theoretical part of dissertation I presented history of homosexuality from old Greece to 20. century. Special chapter is intended to slovenian homosexual scene and to homosexual organizations in Slovenia and their activites in this field. Theoretical models of developing homosexual identity, the meaning and the role of coming out serve towards better understanding of homosexuality. Because this dissertation is focused on homosexual minority in team sports (basketball), dealing with socializational process, sport function, gender equality or better the lack of it because of biological and cultural gender differences and knowing professional sport and everything around it, helps us to win better perspective regarding sports. Next chapter upgrades our unerstanding with closer knowing of homosexuality in sports through history and LGBT sports. Theoretical part closes with explanation of important concepts such as homophobia and heteronormativity. Homosexual athletes are not very often subject of research, therefore I focused in this dissertation on homosexual basketball female players and unfortunately only one male player. I was interested in their life experiences related to different sexual identity in both of their worlds, in basketball community and in closer family and friends relationships. With this research I wanted to find out if they comed out of the closet in basketball teams and also in private life, to whom they reveal first, what were their experiences, why they decided to speak out or why the didnt decide to come out, did they feel any type of stigmatisation due to homosexuality and what is their personal opinion about tolerance in sports today