From parenthood to pride numbers, the Matildas represent so much more than just an inclusive team; they embody the entire culture of women's football on and off the field.
Over the decades, this safe and inclusive culture on and off the pitch has acted as a magnet for queer people to gravitate towards, which is why it appears these days that women's football is over-represented when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community compared to other areas of public life.
Heyman was one of the players who spear-headed the first Pride initiative in Australia's top-flight domestic competition, then known as the W-League, when her club Canberra United wore rainbow socks and organised donations for a LGBTQIA+ charity in 2014. "Go gays!" she famously told media after their quarter-final victory over France. "You can't win a championship without gays on your team — it's never been done before, ever. That's science right there!"
That is not to say that all is sunshine and rainbows when it comes to discrimination in women's football. For years, the game has grappled with the homophobic stereotype that all women athletes are lesbians, while also facing the fact that many of them are. "At the same time, the coverage we did get was weirdly heterosexualised. Of course, there were and are many straight players. Some would try to distance themselves; many others could see that not only was their sport suffering but also their team-mates, so they became allies.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the first non-binary person to win a gold medal came from football: Canadian national team player Quinn, whose name and pronouns are now shared widely whenever they play in order to platform footballers who sit outside the traditional male/female binary. The men's competitions, by contrast, had none. The reasons why are complicated, but a large part is because the environments created within men's sport — which is often described as "the last closet" — remain unsafe and unwelcome for those who do not conform to traditional norms of heterosexual masculinity.
Further, earlier this year, when FIFA tried to introduce a 'Visit Saudi' sponsorship to the tournament, public criticism from queer players, commentators, and fans that highlighted Saudi Arabia's anti-LGBTQIA+ laws saw the governing body backtrack on the deal. Instead, players have been given the option of choosing from eight FIFA-approved armbands that include vague, corporatised slogans like "United For Inclusion" or "Football Is Joy, Peace, Love and Passion".
They remember because many of them have been there themselves; they have suffered the same social pressures around gender and sexuality, and they know how powerful a moment of representation and connection can be to someone who feels the same way they did.Their gesture was not a watered-down message about "Inclusion For All" . It was not about trying to appease nations or cultures who deny queer people their safety and freedom.
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