Safer: Inclusivity takes centre stage
‘Safer’ is a play developed through an innovative research and knowledge exchange partnership with LGBTQIA+ rugby club, the Hull Roundheads
Project summary
The Challenge
For too long, LGBTQ+ individuals have encountered hurdles and stigmatisation that deterred them from pursuing their passion for sports.
The Approach
A combination of research, theatre, and community engagement intersect to drive change and amplify the voices of the LGBTQ+ community in sports.
The Outcome
This project demonstrates that inclusivity in sports is not merely an aspiration but an achievable reality.
Lead academics
Project funded by
Amplifying LGBTQ+ voices
This landmark project is sparking essential dialogues, challenging existing norms, and inciting change on a global scale.
The Challenge
In 2018, the Hull Roundheads, the first LGBTQ+ sports team in Hull, took a bold step to eliminate barriers faced by the LGBTQ+ community in sports. Guided by the global mission of International Gay Rugby (IGR) to eradicate homophobia and transphobia in rugby, they embarked on an inspiring journey.
The Challenge they faced was not just to establish themselves as a pioneering LGBTQ+ sports team but to confront the institutional and cultural barriers that had historically deterred LGBTQ+ individuals from fully participating in sports.
Although acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in sports has accelerated rapidly since the IGR was formed in 2020, covert homophobia, overt transphobia and other forms of exclusion still persist. This project has spotlighted the complex and pervasive challenges that lie behind almost half of LGBTQ+ individuals in the UK still finding sports unwelcoming or intimidating – and discovers how the Roundheads have overcome this to become the fastest-growing sports club in the city.
This pioneering movement aims to forge a new path towards inclusivity in sports, transcending the boundaries of the rugby field and inspiring change within and beyond Hull.
The struggles faced by one team in Hull do not stand in isolation; they are the experiences of people all over the world, and we’re hoping to start a change that ripples through the sporting community and potentially beyond that.Dr Lucy Fielding
Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Practice
The Approach
Powered by funding from the Wellcome Trust, which is managed and supported by the British Science Association, The Ideas Fund is a unique model, which offers the Roundheads, as the community partner, an opportunity to drive the project idea and be matched with a researcher from the University.
The idea was to create the play 'Safer' to support positive mental wellbeing, in line with the Ideas Fund theme by valuing the voices of the team and encouraging knowledge exchange between the two partners. Watch the documentary video here:
Dr Sarah-Jane Dickenson, as the original researcher delved deep into the motivations and obstacles that LGBTQ+ community members encounter in their quest for sports involvement. This comprehensive exploration led to the creation of "Safer," a compelling 50-minute play. A combination of research, knowledge exchange, live theatre, and community engagement intersect to drive change and amplify the voices of the LGBTQ+ community in sports.
The project is being piloted in schools and colleges, offering a performance of the play and a workshop afterwards, led by Dr Lucy Fielding. This educational strand is working with young people to discuss themes of inclusion, exclusion and toxicity; specifically addressing banter.
A performance took place in London as part of the 2024 Pride Week celebrations on June 21-22 in the Bloomsbury Theatre to members of some of the 40+ LGBTQ+ sports clubs in the capital.
The Impact
Encouraging the Roundheads to tell their stories with such honesty and intimacy has been transformative, generating a work that resonates so universally with other people’s experiences of exclusion and the desire for a ‘safe’ space.Dr David Eldridge
Senior Lecturer in American Studies
"Safer" goes beyond the stage, serving as a catalyst for transformative conversations. Following each riveting performance, audiences openly share their deeply personal stories, creating a rich tapestry of experiences that resonate far beyond Hull's borders. The play's influence extends well beyond its hometown, as exemplified by its presentation at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022.
This project, born out of the determination of a local sports team, demonstrates that inclusivity in sports is not merely an aspiration but an achievable reality. "Safer" stands as a testament to the power of storytelling, theatre, and community engagement, inspiring essential dialogues and making a profound mark. The impact of the project illuminates the profound and lasting influence of "Safer" as it sparks essential dialogues, challenges existing norms, and inciting change on a global scale.
Next steps
We are working in partnership with Active Humber to work with four community sports clubs in the region. The aim is to explore and amplify our research into providing inclusive spaces, promoting changes in the culture and policies of sports clubs and the experiences of LGBTQ+ members and players. With Active Humber and Cornerhouse, the project has begun working with community sports clubs and organisations, most recently with CrossFit Hull and Humber and Street Games.
A steering group has now been established involving Hull City Council, members of the National Education Union, local LGBTQ+ community groups and other partners, alongside the University’s School of Education, to explore the project’s future opportunities for supporting the region’s schools and colleges.