Social Influences on Sport Participation
It is clear that sport is strongly influenced by social factors and by
human cultural responses. There is a recurring tension between
tradition and the cry for modern intervention, this is apparent in
football, where some want the technology that is used in rugby, in
which a television screen is used in doubtful situations such as try's
that weren't fully seen by the referee, this would eradicate time
wasting in controversial football decisions, that cause players to
fire up at referee's. The development of sport has moved with various
waves of social change
Cultural
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In the UK we've witnessed the move to urbanisation from an
agricultural way of life, i.e. from working on farms as a farmer or
farm hand to working in factories, then we moved to a technologically
based society in the twentieth century and a communications and
electronic society in the twenty-first. With this we have seen major
changes in the way we provide and participate in sport. We have new
physical and social settings, such as golfing complexes, multi sports
clubs, high-tech stadiums, indoor cricket arenas and even virtual
reality dimensions for practicing before we play.
Many local, regional and national cultural attitudes and values are
reflected in the development of sport. With specific sports in
selected areas i.e. adventure sports in the Lake District and water
sports on the Solent, which is a part of the channel between the Isle
of Wight and the main land of England.
Patterns of employment have changed with more flexible working styles.
Making more leisure time available enabling pe...
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...e an assumption that some sports have a high
incidence of injury. That playing sport can be humiliating.
Disability: Can be a barrier, and the integration of disabled
participants is ongoing challenge for sport. Recent legislation has
forced organisations to look at physical barriers and build or rebuild
suitable access. Barriers are mainly physical ones but others include
lack of opportunity, and lack of suitable or qualified coaches,
adaptation of equipment, lack of money, lack of transport, and the
disadvantaged may have less time or energy for sport.
All target groups experience barriers to participation. The target
groups are:
* OAP'S
* CHLDREN
* DISABLED
* TEENAGERS
* UNEMPLOYED
* WOMEN
* ETHNIC GROUPS
* DIFFERENT ABILITY LEVELS
* INNER CITY KIDS
Sport is the new Opiate of the Masses it behaves in the same way religion does as it is used as a deterrent from our everyday lives. Religion main function is to preserve the status quo, which means that it serves the “haves” and keeps the “have-nots” down in their place. Sport may be very different from
The process of finding out who we are and where we fit in this ever-changing world is an unending and complicated dance of discovery. Through family influence, social norms, experiences and interaction with our environment, we define ourselves. However, this definition is not one that stays the same forever. Our identity develops, changes, strengthens and solidifies as we reflect on our lives. Through exploring the athletic identity of two individuals I will reflect on the differences in expectations and meanings attached with the shared identity type. I examined the development of two different athletic identities—a basketball player turned track and field runner (myself) and a male basketball player (Rick)—by looking at the influence of significant others and the social and institutional forces at play.
Gender barriers have always existed in the field of sports. I will be focusing specifically on women in the field of bodybuilding and men who enter synchronized swimming in order to illustrate the social and cultural costs and benefits of these individuals entering their given sports.
Sports become stereotyped as gender-neutral, feminine, or masculine based on conceptions regarding gender, gender differences, and beliefs about the appropriateness of participation due to gender (Colley et al., 1987; Csizma, Wittig, & Schurr, 1988; Koivula, 1995; Matteo, 1986). Sports labeled as feminine seem to be those that allow women participants to act in accordance with the stereotyped expectations of femininity (such as being graceful and nonagressive) and that provide for beauty and aesthetic pleasure (based on largely male standards). A sport is labeled as masculine if it involves the following: 1) attempts to physically overpower the opponent(s) by bodily contact; 2) a direct use of bodily force to a heavy object; 3) a projection of the body into or through space over distance; and 4) face-to-face competition in situations in which bodily contact may occur. These characteristics are believed to be appropriate expressions of masculine attributes such as aggressiveness, effectiveness, and power (Metheny, 1965; Koivula, 2001).
There are many repercussions that are projected upon both men and women when they enter into a sport that typically isn’t thought of as gender appropriate. Some of those cultural and social stigmatisms may be abandonment by your peers, and friends questions regarding your sexuality, and even in some cases criticism as to how you are living your life. In some cases, it may lead to you not being accepted by either group, theone whose norems you are not following, of as well as the one with whom you are trying to get involved. This paper will address all of these issues and how these seemingly negative situations can, will, and are, leading to growth. It will also discuss how this is a situation where repercussions are not just in the sports arena, but is prevalent in everyday life, in areas far beyond that of sport.
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair. Sport speaks to people in a language they can understand.” Nelson Mandela. Sport contributes to community identity, serving as a focal point for engagement, pride, and achievement. The diversity of sports and sporting activities (including social sport and physical recreation) makes it an ideal medium to reach men and women from every age-group, culture, and socio-economic background. The broader benefits of sports go beyond the personal benefits derived from participation. Sport is a popular focal point
Sport and identity together have a unique relationship in which any regional or national place can use sport as a means to create a sense of identity. The relationship is complex and varied. Identity can be explained as understanding what or who a person or a thing is. Sport is capable of creating a feeling of nationhood and this is an important factor. It is important too for a nation to create a sense of identity but it is especially important for a regional area. For a small country to host a major sporting event is a significant achievement especially with having rivalry with bigger neighbouring countries. Nationalism can be expressed in a less aggressive manner through sport because there is a clear winner and loser; it is a clear cut way of asserting superiority of your notion over others. In this essay, one regional and one national example will be looked upon to see how they use sport to assert their sense of identity. Cricket in Yorkshire County Cricket Club will be used as a source of a regional example and rugby in South Africa will be used as a national example. We will look at the factors they used to inflict sport as a means to promote their identity and also if these identities are sustainable.
Sports society is the land were every serious athlete wants to step foot on and be apart of. Here the people are put into categories that rank each individual by how much money they make. There are two classes by which people fit; top and bottom. The top consisting of the athletes and the bottom although bigger then the top holds all of the supporting fans. The top class is also split up into smaller niches where the highest paid players are above the ones making league minimum salary. Social stratification persists over generations. Most of the athlete's children will have the genetics make up to go on and have a successful life on their own staying in the top class, but in this system a fan may have what it takes to become a player and enter the top class. The world that sports society lies in is stratified into an upper, middle and lower class system. As seen in the figure below sports worlds top and bottom class falls into the world upper social class.
Dealing with the issue of sport and ethnology, three major factors come to mind; prejudice, racism, and discrimination. These factors span across gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural groups. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how these factors have played a part in the evolution of sport in our society. The first issue tackled in this paper will be racism in sports, followed by prejudice and discrimination.
To explore answers to these questions I read the Journal of Sport & Social Issues article "That's Who I Want to Be: The Politics and Production of Desir...
excellence in sport so as to bring a sense of pride to the country and
What is socialization? Socialization is described as the process in which human beings or animals learn to adopt the behavior patterns of a community in which they live in. They acquire beliefs, habits, and knowledge of the society in which they live in through a series of training and education for adult status. Sports have a way of playing a positive or negative role in socialization through all age groups in which participates in a sport. As for gender sports play a different role in socialization for males and females. The norms that are conveyed through this agent of socialization are the social behaviors and beliefs that are accepted, meaning the common rules of those sports that govern the behavior of the sport. Teams often follow norms,
Sport is a significant aspect of society. Frey and Eitzein (1991, p.503-504) refer to sport as a ‘prominent social institution’ and a ‘microcosm of society’ stating that behaviours, relationships and group dynamics within sport mirror that within our society as a whole. Sport in the educational setting is widely accepted because it teaches young people valuable life lessons such as discipline, fairness, teamwork and respect (Frank 2003). The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (2003, p.2) identifies the importance of sport and physical education for young people, explaining that its ultimate aim is ‘to contribute to the preparation of the student for a life of autonomous wellbeing’. Delaney and Madigan (2009) further highlight the benefits of sport, stating that it provides individuals with a sense of belonging to a group and that it provides opportunities for camaraderie, social bonding and social integration. While sport has many positive benefits and is also recognised to contribute to social inclusion among young people, it can also result in social exclusion and marginalisation for many (Dagkas and Armour 2012). This essay will look at how sport in education works as a mechanism for social inclusion and exclusion.
Significant place in the activities of the state youth policy takes support projects, programs, student social, educational groups, whose activities are directed to work with the school, pupils and students to create a healthy lifestyle of young people. This area also includes the content, support and assistance in technical equipment of the activities of agencies prevention of deviant behavior of youth. Unfortunately, not everyone had have the same opportunities in sport. There are many reasons why people do not take part: cultural, social, economic and educational. Let begin with the cultural. They are linked with nationalities, beliefs and religion. They determine who can engage in sports. Some religions infringe on the rights of women and deprive them of the right to be active and play sports on a par with the opposite sex. In other cases, women should wear clothing that covers the body. This is especially common in the UK where the multi-ethnicity is represented very evidently. There are plenty of sports popularized by different cultures, but