World of sports more welcoming towards gay women than gay men, survey says.

According to a survey published today by Fondation Emergence, Canadians believe that the sports world would not be as welcoming to homosexual men as it is to homosexual women.
The survey, performed by Leger Marketing, reveals that 61 per cent of Canadians believe that gay men are not easily accepted in the world of sports, compared to 45 per cent who believe the same concerning homosexual women. The survey also reveals that 75 per cent of Canadians think that homosexual women have the same chance of success in a sports career as heterosexual women while the percentage drops to 60 per cent when it comes to homosexual men. Furthermore, Canadians would be more inclined to accept that a popular athlete is a homosexual woman than a homosexual man. Sixty-seven percent of them believe people are ready to accept a female gay athlete compared to 53 per cent who believe the public would be ready to accept a male gay athlete.
According to Fondation Emergence’s president, Laurent McCutcheon, these results show the sexist stereotypes that predominate in the sports world.
“Women whose physical strength surpasses what’s average will be highly esteemed and their chances of success will increase. Yet on the other hand, a gay man’s image is still too often equated with poorer physical ability even if it’s just plain untrue,” he said.
In addition, 73 per cent of Canadians think that homosexuality is a taboo subject in sports, with 68 per cent of the respondents stating that homosexuality is also kept silent in the sports media.
“The survey confirms that the sports world is still one of the last, if not the last stronghold of homophobia. We’re dealing with built-in discrimination in which the system takes over the individual. Getting ahead in this community means accepting to keep homosexuality’s existence in society silent,” said McCutcheon. “The sports world is a small society in itself with its own rules and its own media system. No other sector of society is organized that way, which is what enables it, though involuntarily, to impose its own social evolution at a rhythm different from general society’s,” he added.
The survey also included a question about hockey, asked only to residents of Quebec. According to this survey, 42 per cent of Quebecers believe an openly gay professional hockey player would be considerably well accepted by his teammates and coach, an increase of 13 per cent compared to a survey performed in 2003.
The survey was presented at Montreal’s Complexe Desjardins where an exhibition on sports and homophobia is taking place. International Day Against Homophobia is Monday, May 17.

Cirque du Soleil performer dies after training accident

The Cirque du Soleil performer who fell during a training session Friday died today at Montreal’s Sacre-Coeur hospital.

Oleksandr Zhurov, a 24-year-old Ukranian circus artist, fell from a Russian swing Friday morning during a training session at the Cirque’s Montreal training facility in St-Michel. He was immediately taken to Sacre-Coeur hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Cirque du Soleil was notified of Zhurov’s death on Saturday.

In a statement, Cirque’s founder Guy Laliberté said he was “deeply saddened” to learn the news.

“My thoughts are with his parents and his family, to whom I offer my deepest sympathy,” Laliberté said. “An incident like this reminds us of the courage and determination displayed by our artists each and every day,” he added.

Cirque du Soleil refuses to further comment on the incident until the coroner’s inquiry concerning the accident is completed.