*EDITED* Proposed LGBT Fans Group - Thoughts?
Feb 8, 2019 16:33:33 GMT 1
Stowmarket Shrew, GlosShrew, and 15 more like this
Post by Mr Brightside on Feb 8, 2019 16:33:33 GMT 1
Right, okay. So I've spent the morning writing and re-writing this post, pondering how I can get the message across without it turning into the usual thread of cheap shots and slurs (under the loose phrase 'banter' which somehow seems to make it acceptable), but I've got to the point where I've just said "**** it" and so I'm going to get straight to the point.
Conservative estimates suggest around 3% of the population are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans; in footballing terms that’s more than 1,000 LGBT fans at an average Premier League game, 2,500 attending national games at Wembley, and even on our terms (based on our average home gate this season of 5,592) would see over 150 LGBT fans at the Montgomery Waters Meadow. And yet little has been done to curb the regular homophobic abuse heard in English and Welsh Football stadia, or for that matter to make home LGBT supporters feel welcome. As an openly gay man, who is a huge football fan and Shrewsbury Town supporter this bothers me.
It was a delight to see the club adopt the LGBT background behind their logo on social media last November - and something that gained over 120 likes from Facebook alone - but then a little disappointing to see it revert the day after, with no explanation attached to the reason for the change (it was to support Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign with 28th November being 'lace up' day). Very often I've sat or stood in silence on our terraces, and others, hearing casual remarks being thrown around flippantly as well as occasionally some really nasty homophobic slurs or chants directed at travelling fans or players. It doesn't make for a pleasant environment and certainly doesn't make it as easy as it should be for some members of our paying support to enjoy their match day experiences. After all, don't we abide to the "Football For All" aspiration? We have Kick It Out and Football vs Homophobia campaigns occasionally but often it just seems a bit like lip service - nothing actually gets done or improves.
Anyhow, as a result I think it's about time we had a Shrewsbury Town Supporters Group founded specifically for those 'Proud Salopians' - fans who also happen to be LGBTQ (for those uncertain of the acronym, that's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) - and I'd like to take the first steps to do that.
You might think that this isn't something that EFL clubs, particularly those in League One and League Two, need concern themselves with. The reality is that across the board all groups established have started with a handful of members, but their visibility and existence has led to more supporters in the last decade the following clubs have all helped set up Supporters Groups for LGBTQ fans and their allies:
Premier League
Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Huddersfield Town, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Championship
Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Brentford, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion
League One
Bradford City, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, Oxford United, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Wimbledon
League Two
Cambridge United, Exeter City, Notts County, Tranmere Rovers
Others
Aberdeen, Dundee FC, Glasgow Celtic, Glasgow Rangers, Hearts, Partick Thistle
Now, there's some BIG names in the above list, and we are a fairly small club, with a fairly small supporter base - and with this in mind I'm not at all sure what the take-up would be for a fans group such as this. I'd like to approach the Supporters Parliament, Supporters Trust, Official Supporters Club, STFC and STFC In The Community about making this a reality, and I'm aware it's going to be one hell of a push to establish a group but I think it's needed. It can be difficult for anyone coming to terms with their sexuality to be accepted on the terraces as who they really are and often groups such as those above are formed as a
response in part to the invisibility of LGBT fans and the reluctance for
many of that community to be 'Out'. The numbers of followers on social media alone varies from a few hundred at the smaller end of the scale up to several thousand for the larger clubs with the more established groups (Arsenal's 'Gay Gooners' were the first of these LGBT clubs to be founded, and have almost 7,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook alone!).
All I ask is if you're interested - however you identify, whether you're an LGBTQ+ supporter yourself or simply an ally of such a project - please get in touch with me via a (confidential) email declaring your interest at salopianpride@gmail.com.
It may turn out to be just one or two supporters, or hell, even just me - but the fact a group is there and visible for other fans, young or old, new or established, to turn to for support if it's required or even just to know they're not alone on the terraces - would be a tremendous achievement and another sign of the forward thinking progressive nature that is possible from this community club. I can't see from our web pages that STFC currently has a listed Supporter's Liaison Officer, or Equality/Diversity Officer (or similar), so I'll be in contact with Brian C about our prospective proposals in due course, but if anyone from the club does see this before then, please do also feel free to get in touch via the above email.
Thank you all for your time - I appreciate it's a lengthy post and not a subject everyone wants to discuss.
Andy G
Conservative estimates suggest around 3% of the population are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans; in footballing terms that’s more than 1,000 LGBT fans at an average Premier League game, 2,500 attending national games at Wembley, and even on our terms (based on our average home gate this season of 5,592) would see over 150 LGBT fans at the Montgomery Waters Meadow. And yet little has been done to curb the regular homophobic abuse heard in English and Welsh Football stadia, or for that matter to make home LGBT supporters feel welcome. As an openly gay man, who is a huge football fan and Shrewsbury Town supporter this bothers me.
It was a delight to see the club adopt the LGBT background behind their logo on social media last November - and something that gained over 120 likes from Facebook alone - but then a little disappointing to see it revert the day after, with no explanation attached to the reason for the change (it was to support Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign with 28th November being 'lace up' day). Very often I've sat or stood in silence on our terraces, and others, hearing casual remarks being thrown around flippantly as well as occasionally some really nasty homophobic slurs or chants directed at travelling fans or players. It doesn't make for a pleasant environment and certainly doesn't make it as easy as it should be for some members of our paying support to enjoy their match day experiences. After all, don't we abide to the "Football For All" aspiration? We have Kick It Out and Football vs Homophobia campaigns occasionally but often it just seems a bit like lip service - nothing actually gets done or improves.
Anyhow, as a result I think it's about time we had a Shrewsbury Town Supporters Group founded specifically for those 'Proud Salopians' - fans who also happen to be LGBTQ (for those uncertain of the acronym, that's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) - and I'd like to take the first steps to do that.
You might think that this isn't something that EFL clubs, particularly those in League One and League Two, need concern themselves with. The reality is that across the board all groups established have started with a handful of members, but their visibility and existence has led to more supporters in the last decade the following clubs have all helped set up Supporters Groups for LGBTQ fans and their allies:
Premier League
Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Huddersfield Town, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Championship
Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Brentford, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion
League One
Bradford City, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, Oxford United, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Wimbledon
League Two
Cambridge United, Exeter City, Notts County, Tranmere Rovers
Others
Aberdeen, Dundee FC, Glasgow Celtic, Glasgow Rangers, Hearts, Partick Thistle
Now, there's some BIG names in the above list, and we are a fairly small club, with a fairly small supporter base - and with this in mind I'm not at all sure what the take-up would be for a fans group such as this. I'd like to approach the Supporters Parliament, Supporters Trust, Official Supporters Club, STFC and STFC In The Community about making this a reality, and I'm aware it's going to be one hell of a push to establish a group but I think it's needed. It can be difficult for anyone coming to terms with their sexuality to be accepted on the terraces as who they really are and often groups such as those above are formed as a
response in part to the invisibility of LGBT fans and the reluctance for
many of that community to be 'Out'. The numbers of followers on social media alone varies from a few hundred at the smaller end of the scale up to several thousand for the larger clubs with the more established groups (Arsenal's 'Gay Gooners' were the first of these LGBT clubs to be founded, and have almost 7,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook alone!).
All I ask is if you're interested - however you identify, whether you're an LGBTQ+ supporter yourself or simply an ally of such a project - please get in touch with me via a (confidential) email declaring your interest at salopianpride@gmail.com.
It may turn out to be just one or two supporters, or hell, even just me - but the fact a group is there and visible for other fans, young or old, new or established, to turn to for support if it's required or even just to know they're not alone on the terraces - would be a tremendous achievement and another sign of the forward thinking progressive nature that is possible from this community club. I can't see from our web pages that STFC currently has a listed Supporter's Liaison Officer, or Equality/Diversity Officer (or similar), so I'll be in contact with Brian C about our prospective proposals in due course, but if anyone from the club does see this before then, please do also feel free to get in touch via the above email.
Thank you all for your time - I appreciate it's a lengthy post and not a subject everyone wants to discuss.
Andy G