Emma’s Story
I was born and raised in a small town in the south of the Netherlands, where I currently live with my dad and my brother. Growing up, my parents always encouraged both of us to participate in sports, but there was never any pressure—we really got to do whatever we enjoyed. When I was eight, I went to watch my brother play football (i.e. “soccer”) and I liked it so much I told my parents I also wanted to play. At the time, our local club didn’t have any girls’ or women’s teams, but for my parents, there was no question. Of course their daughter would be allowed to play football, even if that meant joining a boys’ team!
I first realised I liked girls when I was 13 years old, when I fell head over heels in love with an older teammate of mine. At that time, it felt like something just fell into place—like I suddenly realised what had always made me feel a bit “different” over the years. At 15, I decided to come out, but I didn’t want to have a lot of difficult conversations with people, so I wrote “I’m Gay—Let’s Celebrate!” on a t-shirt and wore it to school for a day, and then to football practice the next. Word spread, and that was it—the easiest (and laziest) coming out in history!
The reactions I received then and since have been nothing but positive. I am very lucky to live in a country where being LGBT is a lot more accepted than in other parts of the world, and that my family, friends, and teammates have been completely supportive. With teammates, we sometimes tend to joke that in women’s football, the only people who have to come out are the girls who are straight, since they are such a minority. I feel like in general, at least the experiences I’ve had on the teams I’ve played for, women’s football is a very open and accepting community when it comes to LGBT players. When it comes to men’s football, I always say this: Can women’s football learn a lot from the men when it comes to technical ability, tactical awareness, and physical strength? Yes. But would the world be a better place if men’s football had 10% of the acceptance of LGBT players that women’s football has? Absolutely.
Artist Notes
“Emma is featured in the illustration with her football. When she first took interest in football, there were no girls’ teams in the local clubs, which is represented by the gloom shown behind her. Emma’s parents enrolling her on the boys’ team just so she could play is represented by the green in front of her. Her wise words regarding acceptance of LGBT players in the sports world is represented by white ferns with the decorative beads.”
Published Jul 1, 2020
Updated Oct 25, 2022
