Download What is the Sociology of Sport?

Sociology of Sport
Sociologists study sport in terms of the
social conditions that surround and are
outside the individual athletes.
Focus on relations, culture, social class,
and ethnicity
Sample research question:
– how do the prevailing cultural definitions
of masculinity and femininity affect the
success of athletes?
Why Apply the Sociology of
Sport?
 Think Critically
– Understand social problems of athletes and the social
issues associated with sport
 Beyond Physical Performance
– See beyond the score and see how sport affects the way
people feel, think, and live their lives
 Informed Choices
– Learning about sociology of sport will help you make
intelligent choices about your own participation
 Transforming Sport
– Making schools and communities more inclusive through
sports
Why Resistance to the Sociology of Sport?
 Too Complex
– Easier to change individual athletes
– Easier to change the way athletes deal with external
conditions
– Requires a change in the external conditions of athletes
lives
 Personally Troubling
– Coaches and parents view changes as causing trouble
– Changing the way coaches exercise power and control
over athletes requires coaches to make personal changes
– Requires a change in the external conditions of athletes
lives
Why study Sociology of Sport?
Sport is related to all aspects of a society
Learning about the sociology of sport
teaches about the society
Ideology – a combination of ideal, beliefs and
attitudes
Dominant ideology – the combination
promoted by the dominant and powerful
groups of a society
Gender Ideology
Sports first developed around an ideology
of gender
The basic tenet of gender logic:
– Women are naturally inferior to men!
In strength
Physical skill
Emotional control
Intelligence
Gender Ideology (2)
The dominant ideology led to a sport vocabulary
supporting the gender logic
– Correct throw ( like a man)
– Incorrect throw (like a girl)
Coaches use the logic to motivate players
– “you are playing like a bunch of girls.”
Gender logic serves to privilege boys
Gender logic creates discrimination against girls in
sport
The gender logic has also spilled over into all
social life
– politics
– business
The Sandlot Clip
"you play ball like a girl"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g
VscCNZsYSY
Title IX
1972 Educational Amendment Act
Public High Schools and Colleges
required to offer females equal
access to sports.
Sport and Family
Sport has major impacts of family
life
– Millions of children are involved in sport
– Parents organize, coach, attend games
and drive children to events
– Changing patterns of youth involvement
in sport result in changing patterns of
family life
Sport and the Economy
The economies of most countries are
affected heavily by sport participation
– Tax dollars are used to contribute to the
success of sport in communities and most
countries
– Per capita income at the end of the 20th
century was about $4000, but some
athletes were making $30 million per year
in salary
Sport and Politics
Sport is link to national pride
– Politicians promote themselves by
association with sport teams and players
– Athletes are frequently elected to political
office on the basis of athletic participation
Jack Kemp
Steve Largent
• Soccer fans National Pride
• St. Louis Cardinals meet the President
• Manny Pacquiao - Philippines National
Representative
Sport and Education
Sport teams in High Schools and
College usually attract more attention
than academic events.
Sport and Education
Sport are the most prominent
representative of colleges
- The success or failure of the
institution is sometimes connected
to success in sport
Sport and Religion
Religious rituals are increasingly used in
sport participation in the USA
– Large nondenominational organizations
have been created for the purpose of
converting young athletes to a religious
ideology (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)
Churches sponsor athletic events
– Churches alter schedules to accommodate
sporting events
Sociology of Sport Theories
Functionalism’s Main Social
Concern
Functionalism is concerned with how
social systems (like Sport) contribute
to the needs of the society
How does sport contribute to the
smooth operation of society?
Functionalism’s Perception of
Sport
Sport is a valuable social institution
that benefits society and individuals
Sport is a source of inspiration on
both the personal and social levels of
society
Criticisms of Functionalist
Theory
Overstates the positive consequences
Overlooks the negative
Ignores the unequal participation rates for
all sports
Ignores the social construction of sport in
society
Ignores the diversity in sport
Ignores the extent to which sport
promotes the interest of wealth and power
Conflict Theory’s Major Social
Concerns
How is economic power distributed
and used in society?
What are the dynamics of social class
relations?
Who is privileged and exploited in
class relations?
Conflict Theory and the
Perception of Sport
Sport is a form of physical activity
that is distorted by the needs of
capital.
Sport is an opiate that distracts
attention away from the social
problems created by economic
exploitation.
Criticism of Conflict Theory
Overstates the influence of
economic interests
Assumes that those with economic
wealth shape sports to meet
economic interests
Ignores sport as a liberating
experience
Symolic Interaction Theory and
Sport
The basic tenet of Interaction Theory
is:
– Social order is created from the bottom
up through intentional interaction
Interaction Theory’s Major
Social Concerns
How are meanings, identities, and
culture created through social
interaction?
How do people become involved in
sports, become defined as athletes,
and move out of sports into the rest
of their lives?
Criticisms of the Interaction
Theory of Sport
Fails to explain how the meaning
of sport is connected to individual
identity.
Ignores issues of social power in
sport.
Studies of Sport Experiences
Stevenson’s Findings
(1999)
Becoming an elite athlete involves:
The process of introduction and
involvement
The process of developing
commitment
Donnelly & Young’s Findings
(1999)
Becoming an athlete in a sport
subculture involves:
Acquiring knowledge about the sport
Associating with people in the sport
Internalizing the norms of the sport
Receiving recognition and acceptance
from other athletes
Coakley & White’s Findings
(1999)
Deciding to play sports depends on:
Ideas about sport’s connection to
other interests and goals
Desires to develop & display
competence
Social and material support
Memories of past experiences in
sports
General cultural images and
messages about sports
Functionalist and Conflict Theory:
Research on Dropping Out of Sports
People don’t drop out forever, nor do
they cut all ties with sports
Dropping out is tied to other changes
and transitions in a person’s life
Dropping out is not just related to
bad experiences
Dropping out may cause problems
among those who
 Have identities grounded totally in sports
 Lack social & material resources
Coakley’s Findings (1992)
Burnout among elite adolescent athletes
was most likely when:
High performance sports were
organized so that athletes had little
control over their lives
Sport involvement interfered with
accomplishing important developmental
tasks
Koukouris’ Findings (1994)
Ending or reducing sport participation
was associated with:
The need to find a job and become
independent
Realistic assessments of sport skills and
potential for future achievements
Efforts to stay physically active and
connected with sports
Wheeler’s Findings (1999)
When competitive sport careers ended,
the main challenges faced by athletes
with disabilities were:
Reinvesting time and energy into other
spheres of life
Reconnecting with family members and
friends
Going back to school and getting on with
occupational careers
Summary: Changing or Ending
Competitive Sport Participation
Changes in participation are grounded
in decision-making processes tied to
people’s lives, life courses, and social
worlds
Identity issues and developmental
issues are important
Problems are most likely when sport
participation has constricted a
person’s life
Do Sports Build Character?
In many cultures people use a form
of character logic that assumes
that playing sports automatically
builds positive traits
Factors Often Overlooked in Research
on Character Building in Sports
1. Different sports offer different
experiences
2. Selection processes in organized
sports favor some characteristics
over others
3. Different people define sport
experiences in different ways
4. Meanings given to sport experiences
often change over time