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, …show more content…
It’s a sort of guideline for boys in how to become a male figure. The author explains how sports are an agent of socialization as it provides a sort of masculine guideline for boys, a place for where boys can learn to be what they grow up to be, men. Socialization is described as habits, and beliefs of the society in which they live through a series of training. Hartman explains that we men become very attached and we have the action of becoming emotionally involved in sports that we tend to play or watch, what we are taught is not to show some sort of emotion in any circumstances as on page 117 the author states that “boys even when dealing with injuries and pain should be tough in the face of …show more content…
He explains that sports had provided them, when young boys and teens, with a reason to get together, to communicate with other boys, doing so separates boys from girls. Gary Alan Fine, in “With the boys”, he gives an example of how sports are an agent of socialization by explaining that little league baseball involves being tough and aggressive, they learn in dealing with injuries and other setbacks. He also goes on explaining that young ball players learn about sex and about what it means to be a man “for adult status” as opposed to a “dork” , a “sissy” , or even a “fag”. As it is the value of the sport because the sports justifies no behaviors of being a sissy, or a dork, or even a fag, as the only type of behavior they showcase is an aggressive and tough
Socialization is the term used to refer to the process of inheriting and circulating norms, customs and ideologies, providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within his or her own society. Socialization is in short the means by which social and cultural continuity is gotten. Ricky and Lafayette and four other boys make up their own gang called the four corner hustlers. (218) the environment in which the boys live in is starting to influence their lives because they feel they have to survive, and joining gangs would help them blend in.
The influence of sports activities on boys’ identity and socialization experience remains a major interest in gender studies today. Michael A. Messner wrote an article called Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities. The article examines the way sports focus and define what it is to be a masculine, studies variation in sports’ influences across social classes, and depicts lessons sports participation impacts for relationships beyond sports. Each area Michael A. Messner examined directly relates to three key concepts of psychology theories. The concepts consist of observational learning (social learning), conformity, and social identity. The research methods in the article are also a major factor contributing to the
Cohen, symbolic interaction “revolves around the ability of humans to see themselves through the eyes of others and to enact social roles based on others’ expectations” (p. 21). Throughout the article, “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities,” Messner provides several examples of how participating in organized sports aids in forming one’s identity, more specifically as a man. One of the interviewees stated that he became involved in sports because, “…It was just like brushing your teeth; It’s just what you did. It’s just part of your existence” (p. 135). The interviewees’ statement implies that guys who do not participate in sports are inferior to those guys who do participate in sports, that participating in sports is the only activity that establishes a guy’s identity and fulfills his very existence on the planet. Another example that demonstrates Messner’s theoretical perspective can be drawn from the paragraph that discusses an instance where Messner attended a basketball camp held for young males. The young males played a scrimmage game while older males were observing. Messner states that there were “expressions ranging from puzzlement to thinly disguised terror on their faces as [the younger males] awaited the judgements of the [older males]” (p. 140). Messner’s observation and statement indicate that the approval and criticism of others are necessary to cultivate a guy’s identity, and sustain that identity. Last but
When discussing why sports matter and the influence it has had over the course of history, many controversial issues have been whether or not sports have taught us to cultivate discipline. Sheed explains that sports can play an important role in the lives of people by helping them discover who they are and where they want to be. The lesson of sports goes deeper than just practicing or playing a game, they help build characteristics that will prepare you for many obstacles in life. Sheed mentions that sports were created and put into schools to teach discipline, patience, and honesty to male students. He continues to point out that sports are very competitive and that sportsmanship and discipline does not matter anymore, but instead the very need to win. In “Why Sports Matter,” Wilfrid Sheed, contends that “sports did not only outlaw cheating but drilled its participants to detect and despise it in each other”. This was a crucial lesson taught to a nation based on transactions.
When the coach turned his head, the seven-year-old stuck a finger down his throat and made himself vomit. When the coach fumed back, the boy pointed to the ground and told him, “Yes, there it is, Coach. See?” (Tosches A33).It emphasizes the fact that if a child gets hurt once, they will fear the possibility of getting hurt again ,so they try to find excuses to prevent themselves from playing the game.Second,Statsky states how competitive adults have drained the fun out of children's sports and made the game unappealing for children.She cites Martin Rablovsky, a former sports editor for the New York Times says that in all his years of watching young children play organized sports, he has noticed very few of them smiling. “I’ve seen children enjoying a spontaneous pre-practice scrimmage become somber and serious when the coach’s whistle blows,” Rablovsky says. “The spirit of play suddenly disappears, and sport becomes job-like” (qtd in Coakley 94). It shows the fact that competitive adults are oblivious to their actions and don't notice that what they are doing can really affect a child mentally.Third, Statsky is concerned that competitive sports will lower a child's self-esteem and make them lack confidence.’’Like adults, children fear failure, and so even those with good physical skills may stay away because they lack
1. It has become much harder to identify the true and amateur-taught values around sport in our culture. The passion for competition, the aspect of a team, and the actions of sportsmanship are deep values that sports act to instill. It becomes one of the most important ways to teach those values to our young and unfortunately is becoming easy to forget. Throughout the semester we scrutinized sports, looking at their influence, role, and meaning in our American society today. Two foundations to view sport, critical and functionalist theory, were brought upon early in the semester, laying groundwork for looking at the rest of the topics. To better understand these two view points a working definition of each is needed. The three C’s of: capitalism, coercion and commercialism help describe the critical/conflict theory and view of sport in our United States. When looking with this viewpoint some of sport’s purposes in society include, promoting and expanding capitalistic drives as well as showing the power and privilege of elite groups within society. (Coakley, 2001) On the contrary the ...
The journal article, “What does sport mean to you? Fun and other preferences for adolescents’ sport participation” claims that fun, social aspects, masculinity, and identity are the main reasons youth participate in sports (Skille and Østera˚ s, 360). Oftentimes, athletes forget they are on the same team, and they start to form cliques or groups based around who has the best bench press or 40 meter dash time. As a result, teammates start to compete with each other instead of working towards the same goal. For instance, one coaching journal article claims that “moral reasoning” in youth is determined through “collective norms” or group behaviors that the coach has a hand in influencing (Shields, LaVoi, Bredemeier, Power, 748-749). A proper coaching environment should therefore revolve around a fun, supportive, and collective environment where success is encouraged through the full support of the team. This support can further be developed through proper positive mindfulness and code of conduct guidelines set forth by the coach; for instance, hazing should be discouraged and proper communication and helpfulness among teammates should be
The age of overwhelming strength and stamina governing sports is over, and the age of the mentally tough athlete has arrived. Athletes are no longer the superficial jocks and robots programmed to accomplish one goal, victory. Modern athletes ranging from the high school to professional levels are faced with many pressures and temptations, normally outside the realm of their sport. These pressures can inhibit an athlete’s performance substantially; therefore, the pressures need to be dealt with by psychologists. The effectiveness of sports psychology is demonstrated through the fields many theories, applications, and variety of techniques and procedures.
Coakley (2009) starts off the chapter by introducing how participation in organized sports came about and how gender roles played a major role early on. He describes how most programs were for young boys with the hope that being involved would groom them to become productive in the economy. Girls were usually disregarded and ended up sitting in the stands watching their sibling’s ga...
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
Socialization refers to “the lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture”. (Macionis, 2012) By gender socialization, the simplest explanation is the process of learning what it means to be a male or female in the society, in which gender stereotypes and bias are usually involved. For example, boys should be tough, brave, strong, sporty, while girls are soft, moody, passive, and allowed to cry.
Socialization is a never ending process that continues to change our perspectives to help us learn and adapt to a social reality. This lifelo.ng process can be split up into two different parts; primary socialization, the first socialization an individual undergoes in childhood, and secondary socialization, when an individual adapts to a specific group within society. Although one may believe that secondary socialization has more power over primary socialization since it is current and therefore more relevant, primary socialization has more authority considering that it lays down the foundation for all future socializations. Our initial values, attitudes, and actions are more important since we internalize them
The sports of today have changed the way the players play the game. Starting on the professional sports level, bad sportsmanship behaviors, like the use of steroids or "throwing" a game or a match in an effort to please the sports gambler trying to get their big pay-off, has trickled down through the college level and even down to the high school level. One person recalls the days when athletes played their sport for the love of the game, because it is what they lived for. They remember when they were younger, sitting in their grandfather's lap and watching the Atlanta Braves (in the days of Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Glenn Hubbard and other great names in Braves history) running out on the diamond every game. In fact, they quoted country artist, Collin Raye, saying [I've been] "a Braves fan even through the rotten years". Watching these games, they remember looking up at their grandfather’s face and seeing the look he had in his eyes by watching these guys play their sport from the heart. Now, years later, sports have been threatened by strikes. The athletes playing now aren't playing because they love to, but now it's more about the money and how much they can make. Sports of today are tainted and don't come from the heart. The kids today need to be taught what it was like "in the good ole' days" and how playing sports teaches an individual about how to work with other people and how to pull together as a family.
Sigmund Freud’s theory of masculinity lies with the presence of male genetalia and a concept that ‘anatomy is destiny’ (2013), leading to a biological determinism theory and this theory has been supported by Talcott Parsons (2013), a functionalist theorist. Parsons believes that alongside the natural element of gender identities, males and females have scripts attached to their sexes and that these scripts are learnt through appropriate socialisation. Parsons believes masculine roles are influenced onto boys through positive persuasive language for example ‘what a big strong boy you are’ (Bown, 2013). Raewyn Connell (2002) explains that typically boys are not expected or taught to take care of their appearance; however toughness and control are encouraged to be primary personality traits. Boys are enticed into competitive sports like football and basketball by a minimum of both school and media, with the promise of gai...
What is socialization? Socialization is the process in which we as people become members of society. As individuals our sense of belonging is shaped through the agents of socialization. The agents of socialization that contribute to the shaping of an individual’s sense of belonging to a group consist of educational institutes, peers, Mass media, family, and religious institutes. The five agents of socialization play a large roles in an individual’s perspective on the way of life, behavior, social interaction and how the communicate with other members of the group. Socialization not only makes us aware of ourselves as being part of a group but also deeply affects ones understanding of norms, beliefs, desires