Rainbow Tractors, Town’s LGBTQ+ supporters group, has announced its relaunch.

The group, which initially launched in 2014, said in a statement: “We have relaunched, ready to take on a new direction as a passionate group for LGBTQ+ supporters and allies of Ipswich Town Football Club.

“Rainbow Tractors' aim is to work alongside the club to provide a positive environment for all LGBTQ+ fans, raise awareness of the issues that face LGBTQ+ people in attending, playing and enjoying football, to hold new social events and create social spaces for LGBTQ+ supporters and allies.

“Football has become a much more welcoming place over the years and with initiatives such as Football vs Homophobia and the Rainbow Laces campaign progress has been made.

“In Germany players have signed an open letter in support of LGBTQ+ players and supporters. Incidents of homophobic and transphobic chants have decreased, and football grounds are more inclusive spaces.

“However, the evidence shows that there is still work to be done to ensure that everyone feels comfortable to attend and be themselves within football.

“This applies on the pitch and terrace. LGBTQ+ people are shown by many surveys, including by Stonewall and Football vs Homophobia to be deterred from attending and playing the game, and frequently they feel the need to hide who they truly are largely due to cultural perception and previous experiences.

“Rainbow Tractors want everyone to feel safe and comfortable attending games and to love and support Ipswich Town, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.

“Rainbow Tractors will be working with the club, fans and other groups both at Ipswich and with rivals to help make supporting Ipswich a truly inclusive environment.

“Initially, meetings will take place over Zoom at 12pm every Saturday, and will look to develop our community further, so do reach out to contact us for the link if you are interested.”

The Rainbow Tractors logo has also been redesigned into a bolder design which better reflects the group.

The rainbow Suffolk punch horse, which was designed by local artist Georgia Goddard and was used at Suffolk Pride 2019, helps to reflect the connection between the club, the fans and the local LGBTQ+ community that we are striving to improve.

Rainbow Tractors is on Twitter and Instagram, while they can be emailed via rainbowtractors21@gmail.com.

Photo: Contributed

arc added 19:09 - Mar 14 Good work. 'Love the new logo :-)
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 20:27 - Mar 14 This is very welcome. Maybe our players could sign a letter of support too. It wouldn't take a great deal of effort to start changing perceptions. COYRT!
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Marcus added 20:48 - Mar 14 Time to update my avatar ;)
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Europablue added 07:38 - Mar 15 That new logo is awful, I don't why they want to go away from the club logo. I don't like the undertones that single a group out as being different rather than being the same but slightly different.
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bluedispare added 07:59 - Mar 15 If you want to be gay or any other kind of make ,that's great,that's your choice,but please don't go messing about with club logos and painting everything in pretty colours.
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Fatboy added 09:33 - Mar 15 "Rainbow Tractors want everyone to feel safe and comfortable attending games and to love and support Ipswich Town, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity." As a straight, white male, I look forward to the day when all of our supporters are made to feel as welcome at our club as I am.
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jabberjackson added 10:01 - Mar 15 Arc, I love your Avatar Say no more...
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Bazza8564 added 10:03 - Mar 15 Im with Europablue here, i think the groups' presence is a massive plus and the fans and club as a whole should be proud of the breadth the club represents. That being said, for a group which stands so importantly to represent the LBGT community as an integral and valued member of mainstream society (which it is), to then seek to differentiate itself so markedly with a logo so inherently different feels rather counter-intuitive.

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shortmarine1969 added 10:25 - Mar 15 Leave the club badge alone - use something else if you want to signify your difference, in fact why signify you're different at all as slightly against the whole point.
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JewellintheTown added 11:22 - Mar 15 Sad in this day and age that there's a need for this type of organisation in the first place to highlight the issues individuals face just to support, play for or be involved with a football team. Thought society had grown up and moved on more but obviously not. Full support from me and I'm a straight, white male. The new logo brings a smile to my face too and no harm done. Not like we'll be forced to wear it on our matchday shirts, but fair play if you wanted to.

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Europablue added 12:15 - Mar 15 It should also be mentioned, why does the rainbow tractors logo have a Suffolk Punch on it?
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ElephantintheRoom added 12:27 - Mar 15 Seems odd - its not as though anyone is being actively excluded from any other supporters group on the basis of race, beliefs or sexuality. If anything this is a divisive step sideways. Logo seems a tad misguided too - like a gay version of the young farmers club - and its a horse, not a tractor.
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grumpyoldman added 12:32 - Mar 15 How does being LGBT+ effect a person supporting a team? Whatever your sexual persuasion surely has nothing to do with how you follow your team. I have nothing against anybody, just curious why it is needed? Is there a women's group, a ethnic minorities group? Please educate me.
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bluesfranc added 13:23 - Mar 15 I will be on Radio Suffolk tomorrow morning at 6:35/6:40 to explain why we are needed, why we have done the badge the way we have etc.
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MerseyBlue added 14:12 - Mar 15 To those wondering why the need for a distinctive badge, I would suggest that you research the pride movement. The article states that LGBTQ+ supporters often feel the need to hide their identity, which shouldn't be the case. Just like Fatboy, I hope as many people as possible can feel comfortable in their identity whilst supporting the Town. If you take issue with the badge being changed then you must feel the same way about any of the supporters groups badge alterations.

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BangaloreBlues added 15:46 - Mar 15 The day when LGBTQ+ people are viewed as normal people, without a tag or a logo, then we can call ourselves progressive and mature. Putting these tags on people instantly puts a wall up, as far as I am concerned. It's a bit like saying, "I am a Christian" to a Muslim. By saying that you instantly create a wall between you and that person because you are saying, "We are different." No, we are not. Black, white, green, gay, not gay, whatever, whatever... there is one - and only one - set of people on this planet, and that's called "the human race". As soon as people get that into their heads the better this world will be.

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obliquewordsmith added 16:43 - Mar 15 I'm heartened by so many positive comments, but the querying of the need for Rainbow Tractors (and most clubs have an LGBTQ+ supporters group now) demonstrates the need in itself, because so many don't see the barriers. Simply, football echoes society, where prejudice still exists, and the culture of football can be a barrier in itself. Last year a Norfolk FA survey found over half of players had heard homophobic abuse while playing. There are no out professional players. I've heard homophobic slurs used at Portman Road in the games before we were locked out. If you're not LGBTQ+ you wouldn't think twice about going to a game with your partner, holding hands, as a queer person, that simple unprovocative thing IS something your have to worry about. Things like that deter people from following their team, diminish us all. While we still find ourselves in a situation where fans and players don't feel they can comfortably be their authentic selves, we need to work to improve the situation and ourselves. Credit to the club for working to make Portman Rd a place for everyone.

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Europablue added 16:55 - Mar 15 Unfortunately, it is difficult to separate any LGBT initiative from the toxic LGBT political movement. Actually ask gay people (if you know any) and they will tell you that the whole point is that they don't want to be grouped into a fringe group, they just want to be part of society and if they are Ipswich fans they would want to be part of the same group as the rest of us supporters. I'm against grouping and separating people based on sexuality, or whatever. Having said that, it is good for the club to be getting the opinons of people who experience things in a different way. As a supporter and as boy there was a lot of homophobia, it would be in the chants and whatever. It didn't really bother me as a straight boy/man, but I can see how that can really spoil what should be a positive experience. I'm sure we can move away from that. Society it very different from 20 years ago.

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Europablue added 17:01 - Mar 15 obliquewordsmith You aren't demonstrating the need for an LGBT supporters group. You are demonstrating the need for LGBT consultation. If there is demand for the LGBT supporters group, I'm not going to stop you, but I find it a shame that gay people feel the need to be separate, because not all gay people do.
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happybeingblue added 17:21 - Mar 15 maybe we should be listening to the rainbow tractors group and then some folk may learn how they are feeling, straight people voice such strong opinions when they will never truly understand how it feels to be in that minority group if you have friends or family or have attended a pride event for example you can educate yourself a bit and think outside your comfort bubble :) there has been a bit of education if you like on football focus recently highlighting SAFE spaces etc for lgbtq+,i personally think attitudes will change significantly if their are teachings in school refletching the changing diverse world we live in, no one should live in fear to express who they love. got my full support 50 yr old straight bloke :) who understands.

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bluesfranc added 17:52 - Mar 15 While we are not prevented from attending games based on our gender identity or sexuality, it is harder to be ourselves. There are members who second guess what they wear, how they act for fear of other people's responses. There are people who don't like attending football because they are wary of what negative comments they might get and the fear of feeling like they don't belong. Unless you are LGBTQ+, I get you may not fully understand our wariness around attending football, and won't understand our experiences fully. While there are still those fears and while there are still homophobic slurs made at the football then there remains a need for a group. We are working with the club to ensure LGBTQ+ fans feel comfortable in attending the football and will be a safe group for LGBTQ+ fans to socialise with and to reach out to. Whether that is before games, throughout the week, at games... however they want to be involved. As I said previously, I will be on Radio Suffolk tomorrow morning to discuss all of this. To all the positive and supportive comments, thank you. Your support of our group and what we aim to do is greatly appreciated.

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bluesfranc added 17:54 - Mar 15 I'd also like to point out we are not excluding anyone from getting involved. We would love to work with allies as well as LGBTQ+ fans themselves.
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Marcus added 17:57 - Mar 15 Yes, things have changed from how they were 20 years ago. I remember being elbowed in the face during a goal celebration away against Norwich. I remember being tripped down the stairs at the same game. I remember being punched in the face after an away trip to Charlton by a Town fan (and the resulting hospital trip and court case). It's fortunate that such confrontations are in the past - but would I bring my partner to a game and be comfortable holding hands or having his face rest on my shoulder during the game (or vice versa)? That's still a no for reasons that would take an essay to explain, if I did it then it would be a statement of defiance and pride. If a straight couple did that then who would even notice or care? Personally I'm not the greatest fan of public displays of affection, however why should my sexuality make a difference over my safety, should I feel the need? I'd certainly agree that the group shouldn't need to exist - in fact it's a founding principle to help create an environment where we don't need to exist. Is it a group segmenting fans? No, it's about inclusion - read the article where it adds 'straight allies', this means friends and supporters of LGBTQ+. As far as the logo goes part of 'coming out' is about being visible as a unique identity - it isn't about conformity. A rainbow Suffolk punch horse breaking through the barriers was the thinking behind the layout of the badge (a tractor design would be much less striking). It isn't just about being safe, it's also about lifting the barriers of perception of safety. Fading into the background is the problem - why aren't there any out gay male professional footballers? There certainly are footballers who are known within the game and in the woman's game. Those barriers are still there.

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Europablue added 18:13 - Mar 15 Marcus I think that any gay footballers that 'come out' will have to be activist types. I don't think it's fair to ask footballers to deal with that when the whole point of their career is focusing on the game. Maybe some will do it towards the end of their careers. I don't want to know the sexualities or even political opinions of footballers. It would be great if players were able to be out around their teammates and if the press would just leave them alone.

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bluesfranc added 18:19 - Mar 15 Europablue it shouldn't have to be something they have to deal with. They should be able to just walk down the street, post on social media with their partner just like straight couples do, just like the women's players who are out do. The media shouldn't make a big deal of it you're right. Because it's not and shouldn't be a good thing. BUT no player will feel like they can do those things until football is an environment which enables that, and that is why we exist. To make sure that one day, hopefully not too far away, in the stands and on the pitch everyone feels comfortable to just be themselves without the worry of others reactions. Given that homophobic slurs are thrown around already, without fans knowing how the player identifies then imagine how much worse that would get if a player came out?

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