Former AFLW star Moana Hope has opened up about the disgusting homophobic abuse she’s seen as both a footy player and an AFL fan.
Hope, who played in the AFLW for Collingwood and North Melbourne, said the abusive taunts even drove her away from attending AFL matches.
She told the Herald Sun during one 2017 match she played for Collingwood against Fremantle, a spectator called her a “stupid d*ke” from behind the fence.
“I don’t normally hear the crowd because I’m so drawn into the game. But when I heard that I was blown away,” she said.
“And I was hurt and a little bit scared because I thought, ‘Why are you calling me that? I’m a person.’
“Why are you using such a negative term? [After the game] I was a little bit scared, hesitant, to walk off the field because I was worried he’d be there to abuse me.”
“Who we fall in love with has nothing to do with these names. This is why kids in school are scared to be who they are whether they are gay or not, because you get picked on if you’re different.”
Hope said she and wife Isabella Carlstrom had “lost count” of the lewd comments they’d copped when in public together.
“I’ve had things said to us like, ‘One night with me will make you realise you need a man in your life,’” she said.
“I’ve been there when guys have grabbed Bella’s arse and said ‘You need an actual man’. Those things happen all the time.
Continue reading: https://qnews.com.au/moana-hope-reveals-toll-of-afl-fans-homophobic-abuse/ (source)
Listening to Lesbians 