Sexuell ORIENTERING: ett vägvalskriterum? - En kvalitativ intervjustudie om heteronormativiteten inom idrotten orientering

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how orienteering runners who openly live homo- or bisexual experience and challenge heteronormativity in orienteering context and what could be done to counteract heteronormativity. This examines through qualitative interviews with four orienteering runners who are open with their homo- and bisexual orientation in orienteering context. The study has a queer theoretical approach, where heteronormativity and Judith Butlers heterosexual matrix uses to examine homo- and bisexual experience in orienteering. Inspired by Eva Linghede’s and Håkan Larsson’s application of Haraway’s and Braidotti’s note of figuration, this essay aims through the method of figurations to not only investigate the present but to open up for an alternative future. The results show how different strategies to keep up heteronormativity as silence and invisibility are experienced differently by different people, from seeing it as a minor problem to a strong wish of an active dialogue about it. Heteronormativity challenges mostly by the openness of the interviewees. As a beginning to counteract heteronormativity, the interviewees suggest education, a higher visibility, and a natural talk about different sexual orientations.