In the consolation game of the ECAC hockey championships at Boston Garden last month, a chant went up from the stands, taunting Cornell goaltender Corrie D'Alessio.

"Hey, D'Alessio!" some rowdy Harvard students yelled. "Your boyfriend called, and he says, you suck!" Five minutes later, the fans repeated the chant, adding an adverbial "Well!" at the end.

This chant used homosexuality as a stigmatized insult, hinging on the "macho" image spectators associate with male athletes. These spectators view homosexuality as the antithesis of masculinity, and--although they assumed that D'Alessio was not gay--chose to attack his athletic ability by questioning his heterosexuality.

"Obviously, some gay men are effeminate," says Joseph Cice, Co-Chair of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Student Association (BGLSA), "but the diverse kinds of people who confide their orientation to me surprise even me, because I grew up with the same stereotypes about gay men in our society."

For women athletes, the problem takes the flip side. Their athleticism, physical strength and often size are used to reinforce perceptions of female athletes--already seen as competing in a predominately male arena--as unfeminine, "butch" and even lesbian.

"There are definitely perceptions that women athletes are lesbians, especially big girls," says Elizabeth Jurek, a rower on the freshman crew team. Every woman athlete interviewed agreed with Jurek's statment.

These generalizations are insensitive to both the athletes and the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community. Unfortunately, the athletes' response to this insensitivity has often unwittingly compounded the problem.

Male athletes often feel compelled to prove their masculinity, often through extensive locker room talk about the other sex or casual derogatory references to the "fags" on the other team.

"I don't really care if someone's gay," wrestler Scott Beck says. "We make 'fag' jokes and stuff, but it isn't derogatory against gays. We make fun of our own sexualities, too."

Although these "fag jokes" may not be intended as antagonistic to individual homosexuals or the gay community in general, imagine the pain they must cause closeted gays, who may feel compelled to laugh along with the banter for fear of standing alone in defense of gay rights.

Opposite Reactions

Ironically, the reactions of some women athletes--who are fighting against an opposite stereotype--also promote negative attitudes towards homosexuals.

Kelly Dermody, BGLSA Co-Chair and All-Ivy goal-tender for the women's lacrosse team, believes that perceptions of women athletes as "butches" or "dykes" may arise from a societal ideal of a "feminine woman" who isn't strong, muscular or athletic.

"If you're female athlete, you almost have to prove you're not a lesbian," says Robin Johnston, a soccer player.

Obviously, there is no basis for stereotypes that larger women are more likely to be lesbians, or that all women athletes are large and muscular. But this characterization, and the attached stigma, still exist.