Sexual minority prevalence and attitudes within the British horseracing industry

Abstract

This article utilises the theories of Inclusive Masculinity and Organisational Cultural Lag to provide the first comprehensive exploration of sexual minority inclusion in the British horseracing industry. The study employs a quantitative approach, involving a survey distributed to two mixed-gender populations within the sport: jockeys (n = 149) and non-athlete stakeholders (n = 308). Results indicate that approximately one fifth of jockeys selected a response other than ‘straight’, while less than 4% of the population of jockeys and stakeholders would view a sexual minority colleague ‘very negatively’. However, despite the relatively high proportion of sexual minority individuals working within the industry, and the positive attitudinal responses towards having a sexual minority colleague, only one of the 149 jockeys surveyed identified as a sexual minority and were publicly ‘out’.