The Kenyan supreme court recently struck down a government decision to ban the registration of an LGBTIQ+ community rights organisation, sparking new homophobic rhetoric in the country. Kenya is one of 32 African countries that criminalises homosexuality. Those who identify as part of the LGBTIQ+ community are often discriminated against, harassed and assaulted. Lise Woensdregt and Naomi van Stapele, who have researched queer experiences in Kenya for nine years, explain the impact of this ruling.
Presentation at ISSA Conference 2016 (International Sport Sociology Association): "Based on predominantly qualitative research, socio-critical sports sociologists from various (western) countries have in the past argued convincingly that heteronormativity and homophobia form early influences in organised competitive sport. In contrast, recent research indicates that homophobia is decreasing even in traditional male team sports such as football, and that acceptance of homosexuality is growing. However, research into the acceptance of homosexuality in the Netherlands shows that male teenagers who participate in sports are less tolerant than older participants. In this presentation, the main question treated is how young male participants in team sports experience forms of homonegativity and heteronormativity. To answer the research question, ethnographic research was conducted among young male participants in team sports. The results of this study shows that team sports in which young males and young adults take part can no longer be characterised as absolutely homophobic. At the same time, the findings show that homosexuality in these teams is still hardly a natural given, and that the acceptance is often fragile and conditional. Although the dominant forms of interaction may not be explicitly homonegative (any longer), they are still often hetero- and gender-normative."
The neurodiversity movement advocates seeing autism as a variation on cognitive information processing rather than a disorder. Healing practices related to homosexuality and other forms of sexual identity (trans, bi, etc.) will become punishable. Will trying to cure a neurodiverse person from autism become punishable too? In terms of accepting the sometimes amazing talents that neurodiverse people may exhibit, there’s still a long way to go, to let them develop their uniqueness from an early age.
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