Against Chelsea last Sunday, sitting in K Block, I could hear homophobic chants coming from our support in the Lower Bridgford. These were quickly condemned by ChelseaPride, PrideinFootball, and LGBTQ+Trickies as well as by the club itself.
Since then, some folk have tried to excuse these chants as merely banter and suggest that they are all an acceptable part of football.
I disagree. Such chants are vile and obnoxious. They are abusive. Let me try and explain why.
I’m an old, white, English bloke. That means I’m privileged. I’ve got male privilege. I’ve got white privilege. I’ve got straight privilege… By saying that I’ve got privilege, I mean that I have advantages because of the chances of my birth. I’m lucky. I have advantages that people of colour, women, LGBTQ+ people, etc don’t. All of my privileges mean I’m more confident, I’m more resilient. I can deal with banter, name calling, and worse. I get plenty of abuse from the Rams I play football with. I can deal with it because I have privilege. If you make fun of me it runs off my back.
You don’t believe in privilege? Let me give you some examples. Let’s start with a trivial one. We’ve all complained that established clubs in the prem get the VAR calls that we don’t because of who they are. Would VAR have spent so long looking for a reason to disallow a goal like Yatesy’s goal against Man U last week if it had been scored for United? Maybe, maybe not. But the fact that we are thinking that way is an indication that we are associating some form of privilege with being a “big” “established” Premier League club.
Now let’s get serious. Straight privilege means that you don’t have to worry about a great many things.
- You don’t have to worry about the emotional impact of trying to work out why you feel different to the folk around you.
- You don’t have to worry about coming out to your family, friends, and colleagues.
- You can see your sexuality on the screen without it being linked to sadistic villainy (such as obviously gay Bond villains) or suffering (the gay character that always gets killed off).
- You can go out and be affectionate with your partner without the fear of being abused.
- You don’t have to worry about being excluded by religious organisations.
- You don’t have to worry about being beaten up for who you are.
The world is full of aggression against homosexuals. It is illegal and punishable in many countries. In some places by execution. We’ve just had a World Cup in a country where it is illegal to wear a rainbow coloured bucket hat, for Christ’s sake.
Now imagine that you are one of a minority. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. Homophobic abuse, even what you think of as just “banter” can make you feel your minority status more acutely. It makes you feel othered – “not one of us”. It makes you feel excluded. It makes you wonder worry that you may face more violent, physical abuse.
The Rent Boy chants won’t have made Forest play any better or Chelsea play any worse. They may even have given Chelsea an added incentive. The chants won’t have worried straight Chelsea supporters, but they will have made any gay person in the City Ground feel excluded and unwanted. They will have told any gay person watching the game on TV that they are not welcome at the City Ground.
This past year, we’ve created an incredible atmosphere at the WFCG. In the second leg of the play offs, we kept the team afloat in the second half and in extra time before Brice took us through. We can make a significant contribution to the team by making the right sort of noise. Let’s do that. Let’s show the world that Forest are magic off the pitch. Let’s show the world that everyone is welcome at the City Ground. Because, as the great man said, “Football belongs to everybody“.
More info here:
What is the Chelsea rent boy chant and why is it homophobic? (thepinknews.com)
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