Is football coming out? Anti-gay attitudes, social desirability, and pluralistic ignorance in amateur and professional football

Past work consistently points to improved attitudes towards gay athletes and growing support for homosexuality, yet reports of a homophobic climate in amateur and professional football persist. Here, we explore two potential explanations for the prevalence of homophobia in football despite low levels of anti-gay attitudes: social desirability and pluralistic ignorance. We conduct an online survey among a football-affine and socio-demographically diverse sample in the UK. We find that anti-gay attitudes are rare. Importantly, estimates from a list experiment do not differ from the prevalence measured by direct questions, providing no evidence of social desirability. By contrast, second-order beliefs about anti-gay attitudes substantially and consistently exceed attitudes, pointing towards pluralistic ignorance as the most likely explanation. We conclude by emphasizing the need for transparent communication to reduce pluralistic ignorance and correct misperceptions among players, officials and supporters.

Automated summary

Past research has shown that attitudes towards gay athletes have improved and support for homosexuality has increased, yet a homophobic climate persists in amateur and professional football. This study conducted an online survey and found that anti-gay attitudes are rare in the football community. However, the study also discovered that there is a prevalent phenomenon of pluralistic ignorance, where people overestimate the anti-gay attitudes of others despite their own positive attitudes.