Could be interesting... Dispatches C4 tomoorrow - Albion to be heavily featured

[spring hall convert]

No i was expressing an opinion and have done so on a number of different posts on this thread.

Well no wonder you don't get it then, your experience of homosexual males appears to be based on "Are You Being Served?"

1. Plenty of the LGBT community are into sport. They at the very least find the endless fascination of football fans chanting about their sexual habits embarrassing. At worst it's a deal breaker.
2. It's not big or clever to use "mince" but I'm pretty sure you already know that.
3. "I bet if you did a survey and asked 100 gay couples ' would you prefer an afternoon of shopping / lunch or attending a football match, the results would be overwhelmingly in favour of the former."

So what? Does that mean that those that do go should feel like they can't express themselves or are you genuinely saying that the LGBT community don't go to football?

 

[Beach Seagull]

Well no wonder you don't get it then, your experience of homosexual males appears to be based on "Are You Being Served?"

1. Plenty of the LGBT community are into sport. They at the very least find the endless fascination of football fans chanting about their sexual habits embarrassing. At worst it's a deal breaker.
2. It's not big or clever to use "mince" but I'm pretty sure you already know that.
3. "I bet if you did a survey and asked 100 gay couples ' would you prefer an afternoon of shopping / lunch or attending a football match, the results would be overwhelmingly in favour of the former."

So what? Does that mean that those that do go should feel like they can't express themselves or are you genuinely saying that the LGBT community don't go to football?

Not at all based on are you being served, based on the experience I've had working with gay guys, whom none have shown the slightest interest in sport.

(1) See my paragraph above for my own experience.

(2) Fair point.

(3) I disagree (see my first paragraph and post 193 as to why) but without such a survey being conducted (to my knowledge) i guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one. I do however believe you would find a far greater percentage of gays at the theatre royal on a Saturday night then you would at the Amex on a Saturday afternoon.

 

[British Bulldog]

I don't think atmosphere at football relies on the ability to be homophobic but I don't think "we can see you holding hands" or "does your boyfriend know you're here" are homophobic.

We all know why the chants are made at Albion fans but you are right in that the chants themselves are not homophobic as there's no mention of anything to do with being gay in either of them, It could be argued that those chants could just as easily be aimed at a male/female couple and a female on her own and it would be a pointless exercise trying to prove otherwise.

 

[keaton]

Not at all based on are you being served, based on the experience I've had working with gay guys, whom none have shown the slightest interest in sport.

(1) See my paragraph above for my own experience.

(2) Fair point.

(3) I disagree (see my first paragraph and post 193 as to why) but without such a survey being conducted (to my knowledge) i guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one. I do however believe you would find a far greater percentage of gays at the theatre royal on a Saturday night then you would at the Amex on a Saturday afternoon.

A majority of straight couples would almost certainly prefer shopping and lunch to an afternoon at the football.

 

[Guinness Boy]

We all know why the chants are made at Albion fans but you are right in that the chants themselves are not homophobic as there's no mention of anything to do with being gay in either of them, It could be argued that those chants could just as easily be aimed at a male/female couple and a female on her own and it would be a pointless exercise trying to prove otherwise.

That's what I'm getting at. I remember the racist chants in the 70s and 80s and they were vile. "Trigger, trigger trigger, shoot that n*****" or "there ain't no black in the Union Jack". Quite rightly stamped out and offensive to pretty much anyone not chanting them. Monkey chants were the same thing but aimed to put off an individual. "Does your boyfriend know you're here?" is more mindless than hate filled, the same level as chanting "you're just a small town near Swansea" at Cardiff. No. No they're not.

Those hideous chants I mention weren't stamped out by mass arrests and bannings either. They went away slowly thanks to education and changing societal norms. The same needs to happen with homophobia. The 7 year olds at my son's school started using 'gay' as a mild insult 'that's a bit gay' but they have all been told it's wrong because it's stupid and nasty and that seems to have stamped it out. None of them have been arrested or even sent to the head teacher. A drunken teenage male on an away day isn't actually that far removed from a 7 year old mentally.

 

[MarioOrlandi]

I seem to remember the same variation in chant sung towards David Beckham regarding Posh Spice
Our own reply of "You're to ugly to be gay" sort of sums it up really.
Or the delightful "Just like watching gay pride" sung at the New Den because Millwall's away shirts were pink.
But seriously does this now mean we cannot sing either of these to Crippled Palarse
You burned you town down
In your Croydon slums
Or
The wheels on your house

 

[Dan Aitch]

I've found a simple method of navigating this apparent minefield (not that I've referred to it before...) - if your banter-laden chant makes reference to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 then it's best you don't vocalise it. It requires you all to read the Equality Act but I think there's an illustrated version out there somewhere.