Report of survey regarding the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in physical education. Results suggest that LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to have positive experiences in physical education compared to other youth.

The voluntary organization “Pride House Tokyo” consortium (secretariat: non-profit organization Good Aging Yells) was started in 2018 with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the “Tokyo 2020 Games”). Since its establishment, NPOs, experts, companies, embassies, and others have collaborated across sectors to advance a wide range of LGBTQ+-related initiatives, with the aim of realizing an LGBTQ+-inclusive society that excludes no one.

Pride House Tokyo, which started with the Rugby World Cup 2019 and has been active as an “official program” during the Tokyo 2020 Games, is working on various issues related to LGBTQ+, but in particular has also been pushing the agenda in activities with sports. In 2022, the Pride House Tokyo Athlete Communication Team (planned and operated by S.C.P. Japan) received a grant from the Nippon Foundation (*1), and has continued and strengthened its sports initiatives even after the Tokyo 2020 Games.

At a press conference held at the press room of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s on March 23rd, there were reports on the results of the “Survey on the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Youth in Physical Education” and the “Ally Athlete Development Project” conducted as part of these activities. Additionally, the efforts for the 2023 Fukuoka World Aquatics Championships, which will be held in 2023 was announced as well.

Pride House Tokyo will not stop even after the Tokyo 2020 Games, and will continue to make sports sites a place where everyone can enjoy themselves in safe, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and utilize the power of sports and athletes to disseminating information about LGBTQ+ and continue to aim to realize an LGBTQ+ inclusive society.

*1 S.C.P. Japan plans and operates the Pride House Tokyo Athlete Communication Team with the support from the Nippon Foundation.

■Results of the “Survey on LGBTQ+ Youth’s Experiences in Physical Education”

Pride House Tokyo conducted a survey regarding the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in physical education. This survey aims to clarify the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people in sports inside Japan through the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in school physical education. The survey was conducted between November 9th and December 11th, 2022, and targeted university students between the ages of 18 and 29. The number of valid responses was 838.

Those who answered that their gender identity was cisgender and their sexual orientation as heterosexual were classified as the cishetero (CH) group, and those who answered that they had any other gender identity or sexual orientation, or those who answered “I don’t know” were classified as the LGBTQ+ group. In this survey, the cis-hetero group accounted for 82.8%, and the LGBTQ+ group accounted for 17.2%.

When asked to respond to the question, “Participating in sports during physical education makes me feel positive,” on a four-point scale from “1 = Not at all true” to “4 = Very true,” the LGBTQ+ group had statistically significantly lower scores compared to the cis-hetero group. Additionally, the LGBTQ+ group scored significantly lower than the cis-hetero group in response to the question, “When I play sports in physical education, I can be my authentic self.”

The unique feature of this survey is that it compared the LGBTQ+ group and the cis-hetero group, and investigated the diverse experiences in the physical education field. This suggests that for LGBTQ+ youth, physical education at school may be a place where they cannot be themselves and find it difficult to feel positive.

For more details about the survey results:
https://pridehouse.jp/assets/img/handbook/pdf/ally_experiences.pdf

 

■Proactive communication from the sports world with 22 Ally Athletes.

Since 2022, Pride House Tokyo has been training and supporting “ally athletes,” who understand LGBTQ+ issues and actively communicate from the sports world. Ally athletes will participate in a total of three training sessions provided by Pride House Tokyo and will study the basic knowledge about LGBTQ+ in order to act as “ally athletes” and effective communication using the media.

In 2022, 22 current/former athletes completed all three training sessions. As an ally athlete, they participated in outreach activities through sports venues, spoke at LGBTQ+ training sessions for sports organizations, and took positive action together in the sports world.

Additionally, at the press conference on March 23rd, a website was released that featured video messages from ally athletes.

 

■ Ally athlete video message: https://youtu.be/JxWRPuCAf1c

 

■Ally Athlete Website:https://pridehouse.jp/allyathletes/

 

[Ally athlete activities in 2022]

■October 16, 2022 International Olympic Games (IOC) “Thank you Tokyo! Festival and Ceremony” event – Narumi Takahashi (figure skating)

■December 4, 2022

J Camp (supported by: Japan Basketball Federation for the Disabled) An online project “How can more diverse people enjoy wheelchair basketball in their own way?” – Mari Amimoto (Wheelchair Basketball) / Airi Murakami (Rugby) / Minato Sato Ms. (Athletics/Pole Vault)

■December 18, 2022 Pride House Tokyo Teens Day Special Event “Let’s interact through sports” – Yukiko Takahashi (competitive swimmer)

■March 4, 2023 Tokyo Marathon 2023 Pride House Tokyo Charity Runner Joint Training – Shuna Matsumoto (Athletic Performance Coach)

■March 21, 2023 Pride House Tokyo “LGBTQ+ Youth EXPO” – Makoto Kikuchi (Boxing)

■March 26, 2022 Pride Center Osaka x Pride House Tokyo presents “Pride & Sports” event – Yuma Saito (soccer)

Pride House Tokyo will continue to work with athletes to expand the circle of friends who aim for an LGBTQ+ inclusive sports world and society where no one is left behind.

 

 

[Comments from ally athletes (partial excerpts)]

▶Mikako Kotani (Vice President of the Japan Olympians Association / 1988 Seoul Olympic Games Solo/Duet Bronze Medal)

“Now that I am in the position of leading the gender equality promotion team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, I have experienced first-hand what we have done at the Tokyo Games (to date) and what we have been trying to do to connect them. Personally, I had only thought of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as sporting competitions, but the various initiatives (male and female flag bearers at the opening and closing ceremonies, gender equality in athlete oaths, uniforms for tray bearers and competition officials) By learning about unisex design from within the organizing committee, I learned that the Olympics and Paralympics are events that allow us to focus on things other than sports and can change society. Now that the Olympics and Paralympics are over, I want to make use of that experience to create a better society, and I believe that there is no point in holding the Tokyo 2020 Games unless understanding and activities have improved because of the Tokyo 2020 Games. In such a situation, I met Sugiyama through JOC, and listening to his real-life experiences broadened my horizons. When I heard about the Ally Athlete Training Program, I immediately applied. After undergoing training and realizing that there is an environment where stakeholders can openly communicate with those around them, and that performance improved after coming out and being accepted, it became clear that this contributes to enhancing levels in sports strengthening. Additionally, it reaffirmed the fact that what those around an athlete don’t know can impact the individual athlete’s sporting career, especially concerning LGBTQ+ issues. I once again realized that sports can have an impact on one’s athletic life.Therefore, I would like to help create an environment where it is easy for all people, not just LGBTQ+ people, to play sports. I am very glad that I participated in this Ally Athlete Training because I was able to feel the dual significance of broadening my horizons, leading to my own growth, and being able to help create a better society. However, I am also involved in various organizations, but when I talk about things based on what I have learned, I feel that there is still a long way to go and there are some difficult aspects, so I would like to continue studying. As a member, I would like to firmly support the movement to move forward.”

 

▶Fumino Sugiyama (Director of Pride House Tokyo/Former member of Team Japan fencing /Co-representative director of NPO Tokyo Rainbow Pride)

“As a transgender athlete, I could not come out at the time, but I continued to compete as a fencer from the age of 10 to 25. At that time, information about LGBTQ+ and sports was limited in the sports world. I didn’t feel like I belonged at all because I practiced every day while being surrounded by discriminatory comments. Especially as a transgender person, I wanted to be myself, in other words, I wanted to be a man. But if I felt strongly about that, there would be no career for me as an athlete, and if I wanted to continue competing, I wouldn’t be able to be myself. As someone who felt unable to reconcile being true to myself while competing, and consequently retreated from the sports world through premature retirement, I am genuinely delighted to see initiatives advancing LGBTQ+ understanding in sports. It’s heartening for me to know that the athletes I admired watching on TV when I was young now support me. While the situation has improved, there are still athletes who are struggling or cannot confide in anyone due to their circumstances. Therefore, I believe it’s crucial to continue promoting initiatives like this, not only for LGBTQ+ individuals but for everyone, to create a sports environment where everyone can feel safe and enjoy themselves.”