"Against the Rules - Lesbians and Gays in Sport "| Touring-Exhibition May 2012 - April 2013
As part of the Football for Equality project, the exhibition "Against the Rules - Lesbians and Gays in Sport" will be shown in 6 different European places - Ljubljana, Wroclaw, Budapest, Bosco Albergati (Italy), Vienna and Bratislava.
Martina Navratilova, Amelie Mauresmo or Marcus Urban - just to drop a few names of sportspeople most of you know. What they have in common? They came out, live their homosexuality open and challenge the ignorance of homosexuality in the sports world.
[an abstract from the introduction to the exhibition, further elaborated by FairPlay:]
The issue of gay and lesbian participation in sport is still a taboo subject that is usually only talked about behind closed doors, but rarely discussed in the open. There is hardly a single area of society in which the participation of homosexuals seems as abnormal as in sport.
Even though society’s attitudes to sexuality have changed, the assumption still remains that sport and homosexuality do not mix; lesbians and gay men are still largely ignored or openly rejected in sport. Gender, Sex and Sexuality play a central role in the arena of sports and are on the other hand constructed through sport; Masculinity and Feminity as norms of “physical” appearance and bodies as well as behavior and attitude are formed and learned. It is quite obvious, that for example different sport disciplines still are highly gendered – just keep in mind the different meanings of ballet and car racing. And heterosexuality is a fundamental part of the creation of sex and gender and vice versa.
However, the situation is slowly changing. And there are a lot of examples of sportspeople, who came out and stand openly to their homosexuality although they are still confronted with prejudice. These sportspeople have to be acknowledged as role models for the fight for equal rights and treatment for Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals.
The exhibition Against the rules, orginially in German and initiatied by Klaus Sator together with the Centrum Schwule Geschichte Köln (Gay History Centre) and 2010 updated and translated into English by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF), makes visible the (hi)stories of discrimination against LGBTIQs in sports but also the various ways of self empowerment and selforganisation which aim at making sport a tolerant place, where acceptance and Fairplay is part of the game. Partly with success - some things did change, many other things are as intolerant as before and in general, modes of discrimination changed. A second part of the exhibition consists of banners portraying LGBTQ athletes like Babe Didrickson, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Justin Fashanu and many others.
The exhibition does not claim to be exhaustive, but aims to help remove the taboos from the subject of homosexuality and sport, and draw attention to the various forms of discrimination against sexual minorities in sport.
Within the EC-funded Football for Equality-project the exhibition is to be translated in four more languages (Slovenian, Polish, Italian and Slovakian) and will tour through 6 cities. “Against the Rules – Lesbians and Gays in Sport” will be shown:
So a lot of chances for you to catch the exhibition -
for more elaborated geographical information --> see the map on the right!
++++no further tour data at the moment++++
Download Media Review (2011-2013), German and English
STATION 1:
STATION 2:
STATION 3:
STATION 4:
STATION 5, together with an Event Series about Sexism and Homophobia in Football
STATION 6:
Football for Equality | Exhibition Flyer, English
Football for Equality | Exhibition Flyer, Slovenian
Football for Equality | Exhibition Flyer, Polish
Football for Equality | Exhibition Flyer, Italian
Football for Equality | Exhibition Flyer, Slovakian
Name: Touring Exhibition Against the Rules – Lesbians and Gays in Sport
Initiated by: Claus Sator
Hosted by: EGLSF (you can rent the exhibition and just have to pay the transportation costs)
born in: Cologne, 2010
Languages: German, English, Slovenian, Polish, Italian, Hungarian (already finished);
Slovakian (planned)
In numbers: