Queen of Fights: Lesbians in Tunisian Sports

Sport within the Muslim context, and including the location of this study, Tunisia, remains an institution designed for the promotion of a heterosexual form of masculinity and the degradation of both femininity and women's athleticism. 

Unlike recent advancements in the West, however, homosexuality remains viewed almost entirely negatively by the political, religious and social debates in Muslim cultures. This overt hostility has almost entirely erased any visible gay culture within Muslim sports. It is within this context that this study finds importance. It represents the first-ever examination into the lives of lesbian Muslim athletes, in either a Muslim majority or non-majority state. 

Conducted on three lesbian athletes living in the Islamic country of Tunisia, we show that each is out of the closet to varying degrees but that homophobia within their sports-even on majority lesbian teams-remains rife. We discuss the coping strategies these athletes invoke to negotiate their sexual orientation in this highly homophobic nation and homohysteric sporting culture.

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By:   Hamdi N1, Lachheb M2, Anderson E3.

• 1 Institut Supérieur du Sport et de l'Éducation Physique-Tunis , Manouba , Tunisia.
• 2 Institut Supérieur du Sport et de l'Éducation Physique de Tunis , Université de la Manouba , Tunisie , Manouba , Tunisia.
• 3 University of Winchester , Winchester , UK.

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