International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) and Social Identity in Sport

By David “Dirk” Smith, M.Sc., SDL (He/Him)

IDABHOBIT celebrated every May 17th is a day to promote awareness, education, and advocate for action against prejudice and discrimination against the LGBTQI community.

Sport is oft considered unfriendly toward LGBTQI people. While progress has been made, discrimination and prejudice is still very much present as well as a lack of representation for LGBTQI people. Yet, Grassroots Inclusive Sports has flourished, with more teams, leagues, tournaments, and events than ever. It is clear that LGTBQI people have a place in sport, so why is there such a split between the wide world of sports and grassroots inclusive sports? Furthermore, how can we use this knowledge to further challenge the discrimination and prejudice toward making the wild world of sports truly inclusive for all.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner., 1979) explores an individual’s self-concept as it relates to their membership in relevant social groups.

Social Groups Include:

• Social Community.
  • LGBTQ+, School, Work, Politics, etc.
• Sport Specific Community.
  • Swimmer, Cheerleader, Footballer, etc.
• Sports Team/ Organization.
• Physical/Geographic Community.
• Others?

Individuals will categorize themselves regarding group membership (are you in-group or out-group?) and then define themselves in terms of that social categorization. In group membership seeks to achieve or maintain self-esteem by positively identifying their in-group self’s vs an outgroup comparison. Leading to a defined sense of “we/us” rather than “I/me”.

Active in-group membership serves to fulfill two of the basic psychosocial needs rooted in Deci & Ryan (2000)’s Self-Determination Theory, social support and autonomy. The fulfillment of these needs influences an individual’s motivation as it pertains to their involvement in the activity as it relates to their in-group membership. The more fulfilled a person feels in regard to their own autonomy as it relates to their identity, as well as the surrounding social support in reflection of that identity, the more motivated an individual is within the in group.

Important for developing:

• Intrinsic Motivation.
• Resilience and Grit.
• Collective Efficacy.
• Self Esteem and Self-Acceptance.
• Confidence and Self Efficacy.

On the flip side, if an individual’s identity autonomy is not fulfilled and/or lacking the social support of that identity, it could lead to feelings of resentment, low participation, lack of motivation and receding interest in participating in the group.

It is important to note that every individual has any number of different identities as it relates to different aspects of their life. These identities, coupled with in group community membership can exist separately but the intersectionality of identity influences your comprehensive sense of self and is relative to the environment in which you exist.

For example, an LGBTQI person on a so called “mainstream” sports team faces at least two possible realities in regard to how their identity as an LGBTQI person intersects with their identity as an athlete. They can express it by being “out” or hide it. This decision is reflective of the person’s sense of self and the context of their environment as it relates to the fulfillment of autonomy and social support. Here are some considerations…

• Autonomy
  • Does the athlete feel safe within their sense of self as part of their sport in-group, regardless of visibility?Does the athlete feel pressured to conform to an identity that contradicts their sense of self?
  • Is the athlete able to exist and express their authentic self without fear of reprisal?
• Social Support
  • To what level do the other members of the in-group support and accept the athlete’s identity?
  • Do the values of the group reflect those of all the in-group members?
    • This is a two-way street in which the values of the group are reflective of the individual’s within it, but the individual’s identify with the values of the group.

Thus, whether the LGBTQI athlete chooses to be visible and comes “out of the closet” or limits said visibility to their in group. The extent the other members of the group accept and respect their identity, as well as support them with inclusive behaviors; will shape their continued membership within the group.  

People are attracted to and identify with various groups based on…

• Perceived stability of the group.
  • More stability = less intragroup competition for superiority = higher group cohesion.
• Perceived legitimacy of an in-group’s position in relation to other groups.
  • More legitimacy = less intragroup competition for superiority = higher group cohesion.High status groups- Define themselves on status defining dimensions “we’re the best!”
  • Low status groups- Embrace social creativity to define themselves on status irrelevant dimensions to maintain a positive outlook “we may not be the best, but we played stronger than we did before”.
• Perceived permeability of group boundaries.
  • Social mobility increases with permeability where members of low status group will try to move into high status groups.
  • Higher permeability means individuals less likely to identify with a group.

The notions of “identity” and how individual’s categorize themselves is rooted in Turner (1987)’s Self Categorization Theory that dives deeper into the dynamic elements of one’s sense of self and as it relates to our membership within different social groups. Our willingness to engage constructively with others and respond positive to such engagement is structed by this process. It is more effective when all members have a shared sense of social identity.

• Social identity permits group behavior to occur.
  • Leads to self-stereotyping who define themselves in terms of a particular social identity.
    • Identify with the values and meaning of the category.
    • Strive to enact that meaning.
• Sense of self reflects operation of a categorization process based on category membership.
  • People see themselves as sharing membership “us” with others or not (in group/out group).
  • Social identities are activated based on a categorization’s fit and a person’s readiness to use it. That is, if this self-categorization maps on to their understanding of the patterns of similarity and differences between in group and out group based on relevance to the person.
• Shared social identity is the basis for mutual social influence.
  • People who perceive themselves to share group membership with others in each context are motivated to strive toward mutual agreement and coordinate their behaviors in activities that are relevant to that identity.
  • Categorization based influence is central to the transformation of low-level individual inputs into higher order group products.
  • Creates conduit between individual perceptions action behaviors and organized collective behaviors.

This process helps develop positive relationships and opportunity for constructive awareness based on a common ground and shared sense of identity. This is helpful toward building educational awareness and embodying values of diversity, equity, and inclusion through respect and acceptance of diverse identities.

Group identity and values are reflective of and shaped by the members of the group. This is why participation and representation are key elements in standing up against discrimination and prejudice. Collective identity creates the platform toward education and advocacy through which values of acceptance and inclusion can be expressed. Further supporting the fulfillment of psychosocial needs of autonomy and social support.

Social identity is the basis for…

• Group Behavior.
  • Group membership helps shape and internalize a person’s sense of self.
  • Self-definition varies as a function of the current social setting.
• Group Formation and Development.
  • Helps to build and affirm meaningfulness in social identity (autonomy).
  • Depersonalization is the core process that binds group members together in terms of social identity that is shared with others.
• Group Support and Stress Appraisal.
  • Builds a sense of togetherness and cohesion when dealing with stressful events.
  • Support by members of the group relative to one’s social identity can help cope with stressful situations and recovery (social support).
• Group Leadership.
  • Successful leaders strive to mobilize team members through consistent articulation of team values built around a positive, distinctive, and enduring sense of team identity.
  • Confidence expressed by leaders into the team is a powerful determinant of success.