Celebrating the Gay Games

The Gay Games celebrates its tenth iteration this week with a lavish Opening Ceremony in Paris. Originating in San Francisco in 1982 amidst the AIDS epidemic, the games were envisioned as an all-inclusive LGBT-friendly version of the Olympics. They were actually first called “The Gay Olympics” but a Supreme Court ruling forced them to change the name, “to prohibit the use of the sacred word Olympic in relation to the Gay Games," recalls Peter B Todd, an athlete from the first games. 

Conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, the Games are “built upon the core principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best” and while they are meant to provide visibility for the LGBT+ community they are not limited to it. Anyone can participate in the Games, even if they do not identify as LGBT+. “It is a fundamental principle of the Federation of Gay Games that all activities conducted under its auspices shall be inclusive in nature,” boasts the Federation of Gay Games. “No individual shall be excluded from participating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political belief(s), athletic/artistic ability, physical challenge, age, or health status.”

“The Gay Games are the most inclusive in the world, anybody can participate, from an 18 year old to someone who's 99,” said Manuel Picaud, co-president of the event.

“The principles are simple: participation, inclusiveness, surpassing oneself but not necessarily absolute performance, virilism or patriotism.” 

 "Anyone can participate in the Games, even if they do not identify as LGBT+."

The organisers of the Games are volunteer individuals and organisations from all over the world, from small sports clubs to large sporting federations. The Games in Paris have received broad support from the French government and are sponsored by several large corporations including the country’s largest bank BNP Paribas, carmaker Renault and General Electric. Organisers have claimed this year’s Games will bring in over 58 million euros to the French economy.

This year it is expected there will be more than 15,000 participants from more than 80 countries. There are 58 athletes coming from Russia and at least one coming from Saudi Arabia – where homosexuality is punishable by death. Egypt and other Muslim countries will also be represented.

Cécile Lambert, a Frontrunner who has competed in three Gay Games, explains how welcoming the atmosphere is: “There were posters everywhere, gay flags on all important buildings… everyone said hello, it was friendly, all in a city that seemed so friendly!”

Yet none of the athletes forget the reasons for why they are there. “From the Opening Ceremony, we felt the weight of the entire history of the Gay Games, and more broadly, the history of discrimination and LGBT struggles,” Lambert said.

“The Gay Games traces the difficulties in mounting such an event in San Francisco in 1982. The emotion is still very strong because there is always speech given in tribute to the homosexuals who have died from AIDS. We feel like we are a big family.”

Peter B Todd, who was the captain of the Australian team in 1982, remembers how the original Games were an act of protest against the treatment of LGBT+ people – homosexuality was still illegal in Australia at the time, and gay conversion therapy was considered a legitimate form of treatment.

"My personal outrage about being subject to this torture masquerading as treatment was transformed into the activism expressed in the participation of [the first] Gay Games," 

Todd wasn’t out when he left for the US. "That's how my family found out about my homosexuality, much to the shock of many," he said.

"I had been warned by my employer that if I ... dared to participate in this Gay Games then my resignation would be required when I returned to Australia.

"And that's how it happened."

 "I had been warned if I participated in the Gay Games then my resignation would be required when I returned to Australia."

Cyd Zeigler remembers participating in Cleveland Gay Games back in 2014, before marriage equality was legalised. "Walking around here in Northeast Ohio and seeing the rainbow flags everywhere and talking to the police and business owners and just strangers on the street, they are incredibly welcoming," he said. "And this is still a state that is, at the end of the day, discriminatory against us."

In 2018, France is still seeing its share of discriminatory anti-LGBT laws and activity. President Macron has promised to address reproduction laws for gay women next year, while according to French gay rights charity SOS Homophobie, the number of anti-gay assaults has risen 15 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Dr. Tom Waddell wanted his Gay Games to put a human face on the LGBT+ community. He wanted to change public perception about gay people. But the Games are more than just a friendly public face, they have become a unique environment for LGBT+ people from all over the world to meet, converse, and to have fun. 

The experience is invaluable for Olesya, who travelled from Moscow to play badminton. "To us, just the word 'gay' is extremely unacceptable," she said. "People don't even have a neutral attitude when they hear that word."

Danielle Warby, a soccer player from Australia, recalls meeting a lesbian team from South Africa at the Cologne Games in 2010. “These women come from a country where things are pretty terrible for lesbians," she said.

"They are in real danger of their lives a lot of the time.

"To hang out with these women in a safe place, in an environment where we could just be ourselves, it's just incredible.

"For me it's all about visibility, and it's about having a go. The theme of the game is participation, inclusion, personal best. It's very much about that."

Raymond Moore, an athlete from Los Angeles, agrees, "We're not here to say, 'Hey, we're out and proud,' even though we are, but that's not why we're here. We're here just because we want to play the game amongst different competitors across the country and to meet people from other countries that actually came here to play."

As the Games continue, organisers hope that so will its spirit of inclusivity and political progress.

"They feel there is a lot of work still to be done, even in places like Paris," Ziegler said. "They believe the cultural impact and political impact in sports and politics that we can have there as a group can be very powerful."

By Tim Gibson

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