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

Europablue added 23:55 - Mar 15 As a piece of artwork that design is kind of cool, it just doesn't work in the context of the name being rainbow tractors. I think we just have a different view on things. I think gay people should be normalized not celebrated (maybe if they do something worthy of praise aside for being gay). I don't think it is fair to expect a young gay man to come out while playing, it's only worth it for an activist player who probably isn't that great as a footballer and wants a media or activist career. I believe that the vast majority of gay people just want to be part of the mainstream. Your group couldn't possibly hope to be inclusive to me I don't want to be an "ally". I choose my friends based on their character and not their sexuality, unless it's something they talk about too much. I guess there is a different group of people who are actively hostile towards gay fans, but I don't think singling yourselves out will appeal to them. It's far better to just be normal fans, and that is why I don't see the value in a supporters group that is based on a certain group of people. Like I said before, I support the idea of a consultation group for the club to get your perspective, and I would even say that the LGBT supporters group has a value as an online support group. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of a supporters group for immutable characteristics. There are real issues like chanting that can be addressed, but things like whether straight people look at a gay couple funny is not really something that can be legislated against.

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Europablue added 00:05 - Mar 16 happybeingblue The Rainbow Tractors have the same right to respectful discussion as everyone else. Just don't let the kind of gay people who attend pride marches and make their sexuality integral to their personality be the only gay people who get heard. The Rainbow Tractors have some valuable input, but they don't speak for all gay supporters. Granted a lot of what they are aiming to achieve will benefit everyone.

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Blue_Again added 06:28 - Mar 16 Isn't it the whole point of equality that you don't need to make yourself stand out by forming your own groups? Why can't we all just be Ipswich fans and leave it at that?
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bluesfranc added 06:47 - Mar 16 I don't for one second claim to speak for all gay people, or all gay football fans. And if there are gay Town fans happy to come to the football as it is then great. I'm delighted for them. But the reality is, that's not the case for a good number of LGBTQ+ football fans and I want to help change that. By working with the club but also creating that social element. We're not going to be going to games singled out. We just want to be able to feel comfortable being ourselves at the football, and help make other Town fans feel comfortable too. I don't choose my friends based on their sexuality either... But knowing I can be myself around those I spend time with is important to me. Attending a pride march or joining this group, doesn't mean that you make your sexuality integral to who you re, or as an ally spend time with people who do that. What it means is, you have the common goal of wanting us to not second guess our actions at the football. Do you not think I should be able to go to the football with my partner without the fear of being made to feel uncomfortable with strange looks?

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obliquewordsmith added 07:44 - Mar 16 Europablue, every single player who has a girlfriend, a wife, is being open about their sexuality. So is every straight supporter who walks to the ground holding their partner's hand. Do you think they're activists? Why should a young gay man not have a boyfriend, husband, just because he's a footballer? Imagine reaching 33,35 and never having been able to tell your mates about your partner, not go to a party or barbecue, a pub, with them. That's not activism, that's living a normal life. Queer fans are normal fans, just we're not always able to feel comfortable being normal because of other people's attitudes, that's not right. I don't think most fans are homophobic, but some are, and some aren't but don't consider how comments and actions can impact on someone who is LGBTQ+ because it's not something they live and experience, their sexuality is integral to their life and accepted without comment. Until all fans, including LGBTQ+ fans, have that same experience, fan groups like Rainbow Tractors are essential.

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Europablue added 08:32 - Mar 16 bluesfranc I don't think it is very consequential what I think. The point is that society will take its time and the reality is that if you want to go to matches, you'll have to deal with some funny looks for a while, then after people get used to it the problem will go away. To me taking a partner to the football is quite a foreign experience. Maybe I've done that twice, and in retrospect, it wasn't very kind of me to do that :) obliquewordsmith You either misunderstood what I was trying to say or I didn't word it right. I wasn't saying that a gay footballer living their life was being an activist. I meant that it would take an activist type to decide that on balance being open is worth the hassle. It probably depends on the club, but I'm sure there are some clubs where there are gay footballers who are open with their teammates. It seems logical that there would be a greater proportion of lesbians in women's football than gay people in men's football, but part of that is probably because women's football is more open to homosexuals.

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Marcus added 09:12 - Mar 16 Europa - while there's a belief that they need to be an activist it more than justifies the need for groups like Football vs. Homophobia, Rainbow Laces, Pride In Football, GFSN and support groups at individuals clubs. It's about promoting the environment where the barriers drop, it isn't about segregation, it's integration. When you say "it's logical there are more lesbians in women's football ... because women's football is more open", you're describing and justifying the need for the groups to exist. Academic surveys have repeatedly estimated the ration of gay men to gay women is around 2:1. The fact there is not a single out footballer in the professional men's game demonstrates barriers against playing the sport and/or being open. As was well described above players can 'parade' their wives and girlfriends, they always have (some prefer to be more subtle, some are much less, of course) - why should gay and bisexual players have that barrier? Almost every other team sport has at least one openly gay player - even Welsh rugby, and if you know the mentality of the sport there what Gareth Thomas did was a bigger challenge than a footballer would face. Is football different in some way to other sports?

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Europablue added 09:52 - Mar 16 Marcus I think LGBT political activists have done a lot of damage to the perception of gay people in wider society, at least the extremists have. Gay pride events have got a bad reputation of not being appropriate for public viewing especially not being suitable for families as they are often sexually suggestive. Homosexual and heterosexual people should keep their sexual proclivities in the bedroom. I'm sure there are good examples, but either way I'm morally against the concept of pride in sexuality (openess is a different thing to pride), even if I understand the concept of feeling liberated. There is a huge problem with lumping lesbians in with gay people, bisexual, trans people and the plus part because in many ways the issues are separate. There are a lot of gay people who reject the political construct of LGBT among them are my friends and acquaintances as well as public political commentators. If people are into the idea of the progressive stack, gay people are considered to be quite privileged in comparison to other people lumped into LGBT+. I don't think you can ignore the greater proclivity of lesbian women to football as compared with heterosexual women, so even if statistically it makes sense that there are quite a few gay footballers in the men's game there are probably a lot less than in the women's game, and part of that is probably down to the perception that the women's game is much more welcoming to homosexual footballers. I appreciate that you feel like an LGBT group is about inclusivity, but groups are inherently exclusive. An LGBT group is not hostile towards straight people and gay people who don't identify as LGBT, but it will be exclusionary on the basis that it doesn't (necessarily) represent them or their views. I think you will find that the problem with attitudes to homosexuality in football is that it is a more working-class game than Rugby (in England at least). I actually feel saddened that the game has been taken away from local communities, but as much as I appreciate the working class, it is difficult to deny the faults and one problem is that working-class communities tend to be more expressive of negative attitudes to homosexuality.

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obliquewordsmith added 10:30 - Mar 16 Two points, Europablue. First, sexuality is not about the bedroom. It's about your whole life. Relationships you see about you, in the media. Your ability to go to a pub, café, football ground with a partner freely. To get married, to be - for which in many countries you can be imprisoned or killed - it's not about sex. That's a really fundamental issue about homophobia and oppression. Second, if someone, or a group, is homophobic, that prejudice needs challenging, not accepting.

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Europablue added 11:27 - Mar 16 obliquewordsmith Of course sexuality is not just about sex, but if you have seen any teenage couples, then you can see that some public expression of sexuality is inappropriate. That was the only comment I was making about it. There is a lot of inappropriate expression of sexuality in public (just watch music videos for a minute or so), my contention is that homosexuality expression of sexuality is not virtuous where heterosexual expression of sexuality is not. The basic point is to judge by the same standards. It really depends on how you define homophobia. If you are talking about the expression of hate, then that is not ok. If you are talking about people's opinions then that is where I draw the line. We can't be thought police, but we can challenge perceptions. Being too aggressive is not going to win people over. Tolerance is all about allowing people to hold different views and have different lifestyles to you. You can stop egregious manifestations of homophobia in the form of physical attacks or verbal abuse pretty quickly by enforcement, but a change in mindset will take longer, probably at least a generation, and if people challenge people in a manner that is too aggressive, then there will be pushback, and the ultimate goal will be set back. That's the reality as I see it, not the optimal situation or what I support.

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Marcus added 11:54 - Mar 16 I agree that just by their very nature lesbians and gay men have little obviously in common, yet at the same time have a huge amount in common. Part of the re-launch was to balance out the representation of lesbian and gay men in the group. This is true with some of the other groups, for example Pride in Football is more lesbian lead and GFSN is more for gay men. The groups overlap as both being for fans groups, however PIF is more on the campaigning side and GFSN is more on the London based social side. I'd also say perceptions from within a community is often very different to those outside. The challenge is often to tweak both. Activism opens doors for sure, but it takes those who are more diplomatic to walk through them, there is a co-dependency. Pride is an interesting thing. Should you ever attend you would probably find almost everyone attending is not dressed or acting in a provocative or glamourised way, however journalists do tend to favour images of those who are. If doesn't make as good headlines to show a few beer bellied 'bears' drinking ale celebrating pride than a flamboyant drag queen, for example. It also harks back to repression - while this is mostly a thing of the past it is a celebration of freedoms previous generations fought hard to achieve and that deserves respect. Also coming out is different for different people, some opt to do it is an extravagant way, that's their right. In fact I have accompanied some who have really glammed up for pride, it was fun.

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happybeingblue added 17:21 - Mar 16 europa im guessing you have never been to a pride event all this nonsense about activism,you seem to be missing the point and sound lacking in empathy to marginalised groups of people,you sound like a white guy telling a black guy there is no such thing as racism sorry old boy but disagree :)
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