HOMOPHOBIA IN SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract:

As a school subject, Physical Education (PE) is highly fertile for hostile and marginal environments for homosexuals. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse empirical articles on homophobic beliefs, attitudes and behaviours present in school PE by means of a systematic review. In addition to several bibliometric aspects of interest, four major themes emerged from the analysis: 1) dominant heteronormativity and heterosexism; 2) the existence of homopositivity; 3) attenuated homonegativity; and 4) proposals for action. These issues are discussed in detail and lead to the conclusion that while there have been improvements, homophobia is still widespread. In addition, homophobia has to be investigated using various examples and diverse methods because there is still much to be learned, both about variables and in different personal, social and environmental contexts.

Keywords:
Homophobia; Gender norms; Systematic review; Physical education