Research Report on Bi and Pan People's Experiences in Sport and Physical Activity
23rd September 2025
To coincide with International Bi Visibility Day 2025, we are excited to launch the report “Not Queer Enough: Bisexual and Pansexual People’s Experiences in Sport and Physical Activity”.
Read the full report here (opens in a new window).
This report explores the specific barriers and challenges that bisexual and pansexual (bi and pan) people experience in sports and physical activity and offers recommendations on how these barriers and challenges can be mitigated.
The underlying exploratory research was designed and delivered as a volunteer-led initiative by LEAP Sports and completed as a part of a student research dissertation project at University of Aberdeen, drawing on 17 semi-structured interviews and 3 focus groups with bi and pan individuals involved in sport. The report centres their voices and experiences to better understand how exclusion and marginalisation shape their access to and participation in sport.
Based on qualitative research using thematic analysis of findings from focus groups and interviews with bi and pan people who take part in sport, the report provides recommendations to sport and physical activity organisers on how to make sports more inclusive, accessible, and welcoming. The overarching aim is to enable the creation of strategies to mitigate barriers and improve inclusion in sport.
The basis for this project was the acknowledgment that we know very little about the distinct experiences of bi and pan people within sport. The small body of research that does document the specific barriers faced by bi and pan people in particular shows that additional barriers include invisibility, discrimination both within and outside the LGBTIQ+ community, and pressure to fit into binary categories or justify their identity. The scoping research that this report is based on aimed to shed new light on this area.
The data collected resulted in 4 themes, which document:
1) the main barriers faced by bisexual and pansexual people in sport and physical activity;
2) sense of community, belonging and identity concerning experiences in both LGBTIQ+ and mainstream sports;
3) specific barriers resulting from the intersectional experiences of bi and pan people who are also trans; and
4) fear, avoidance and coming out.
The report concludes with a set of practical recommendations for sports organisations and clubs on mitigating the barriers and improving the experiences of bi and pan people in sport and physical activity. These recommendations are suggestive as no experience is universal and as always recommendations ought be enacted upon in consultation with bi and pan people in your sport or physical activity setting.
Recommendations:
- Increase visibility of bi and pan people, for example through social media campaigns, ambassador programmes, and networking spaces;
- Address biphobia and panphobia in sport settings via training, awareness campaigns, and accountability mechanisms such as clear anti-discrimination protocols;
- Promote inclusion and diversification of participants in both LGBTIQ+ and mainstream sport spaces by reviewing practices to enhance intersectional outreach, building internal support structures, and fostering genuinely welcoming environments and inclusive community norms;
- Support trans bi/pan people through access to gender-neutral facilities, mixed gender participation options, inclusive policies, and trans inclusion training
- Address mental health and wellbeing through partnerships with LGBTIQ+ focused mental health services and peer-led support initiatives tailored to LGBTIQ+ athletes and recreational sport participants.
In the following weeks we will be sharing experiences of bi and pan people in sport as documented in “Not Queer Enough” on our social media channels. Make sure you are following @LEAPSports on Instagram to catch all the content.
Acknowledgements:
Huge thank you to the participants in this study, we are immensely grateful for your time in sharing your experience.
This research project was possible through incredible dedication from LEAP Sports volunteers Anna Clelland, Simo Bradley, Shooky Shi and particularly through the expert guidance of Sone Erikainen.
We are also hugely grateful for the time and effort by our volunteers as well as from our first author, Lucia Ortega Prieto for taking on this project as part of her degree at the University of Aberdeen.
