AndyC Guest 0 post 8-Jan-2008 2:32 PM

Changing attitudes - changing times People who don't play sport don't want to Introduction "The rituals of sport engage more people in a shared experience than any other institution or cultural activity today" (Burstyn,1999). So why do people still choose not to take part in sport? Today in the modern world we have all been socialised into sport, whether it be through the media, family, friends or childhood experiences in sport. "Socialisation is the transmission of culture" (Horne et al, 1999), However it is important to remember that not everyone goes through the same socialisation learning process. As individuals we learn to coincide to social norms and develop our self concepts according to our culture. Its through this process that people have different concepts and opinions when participating in sport. In society there have been many advances on traditional views on ‘gender’, ‘ethnicity’ and ‘class’. However many of them are still leading concerns in todays society. Just to bring you all down to the real world: all three have been found operating together, having positive and negative factors which influence peoples decisions to participate in sport. I am now going to look at the social aspects that occur in gender, ethnicity and class, with reference to the problems and participation in sport. Gender Gender is still an aspect of equality, in that it has seen a continuous investigation over many years and yet still occurs in todays society. There is a manifest of gendered issues floating around. Using the debates of gendered issues. I am going address what they are and how they affect participation in sport. These gender inequalities are normally hidden within the divisions that people have experienced, whether it be through a bad experience at school; growing up in a society with lack of role models; or a culture that prevents them partipating in sport. Sport is a social and cultural process. Today we live in a world where social constructions of masculinity and femininity play key roles in society, whether it is in the media, in a work place or in sport. Sport is traditionally linked to masculinity. In return it is inappropriate for women to engage in sport, in some cases, women who do participate are perceived as masculine or even lesbians. On the other hand, men who do not engage in sport or partake in sports are considered to be feminine and labelled unmanly or homosexual. In my opinion, there is no one masculinity or femininity in sport. Sport should provide an opportunity for all to participate, whether it is competitively or for recreational enjoyment. "The Women’s Sport Foundation has a vision of a society which celebrates the diversity of women and girls, and enables them to benefit from, excel at and fulfil their potential through the sport of their choice" Women’s Sport Foundation 2006. Stereotyping is a way of judging and grouping people according to their beliefs or the actions they take. Forming groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, class and disability. Some societies and religions still believe that sport is a masculine, and that women’s gender role is to stay at home and take care of the family. This continuous attitude held by many people reduces woman’s opportunities to take part in sport if they have been raised in this social culture. Women’s opportunities are reduced further due to less time to participate in sport, as they have to look after their children and household chores. Kay (1994) confirmed that ‘women are constrained in their leisure time by the needs of household keeping and caring for dependants and by lower car ownership than men.’ Stereotyping plays a huge part in participation in sport, beginning from a young age. Simple activities such as playtime, in which girls generally play games of a feminine nature i.e. mums and dads, families and dancing, etc; and boys playing games focused around masculine power and aggression such as fighting, army etc. This brings us to the assumption, that men are still seen as the dominant gender in most societies and naturally superior to women in any activity involving strength and physical skills, making women vulnerable when taking part in sport. "Yet Paula Radcliffe had proved that anything a man could do, she could do faster when she finished the London Marathon in a time several minutes better than any of the British male runners." (www.fmwf.com Julie Welch, 2006). This is a clear indication that females can be physically powerful and capable of noteworthy sporting achievements, surpassing the vast majority of men in the world. www.google.com – Google images – Paula Radcliffe http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/photo_galleries/4525242.stm In the modern day of society sports can be categorized depending on their social traits. From the table below it is evident that males still dominate in the sporting world, from the small selection of sports listed there are many more sports socially acceptable for males to participate in, than there are for females. This is constantly being challenged today over the idea of accepting equality in sport, and important revisions are being made over the dominant gender beliefs in sport. In recent years however, more women have taken up ‘masculine’ sports. A great example is the opportunities that have arose in women’s football since the women’s European Championship in 2005 "Only 5% of sporting coverage in national and local print media is dedicated to women’s sport" (Women’s Sports Foundation 2005. Yet since, success in the World Cup in China 2007 shaped a whole new light on the media and participation in women’s football. The England national team received live coverage on BBC2, which is a huge step into the future for women in sport. This has seen a massive increase in participation with numbers soaring above 133,000 players competing in affiliated club and cup competitions. A study has shown that over 1.5 million girls under the age of 15 have played some form of football in the past 12 months, making it the fastest growing sport in the world, and it’s for women! Masculine: Football, Rugby, Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Cricket & Snowboarding. Feminine: Dance, Gymnastics, Netball, Hockey, Softball; Both Genders: Swimming, Tennis, Badminton. These stereotypical views are significant. However not only females suffer from this stereotyping. Male athletes are criticized for making mistakes or not playing aggressively enough, accusing them of ‘playing like a bunch of girls.’ The same transfers, when males take part in gymnastics or dance, because they are seen as feminine sports. This attitude is a great deterrent for boys who may wish to take part, but feel pressured to follow the male dominant sports, because it is seen as morally wrong. Through these immoral attitudes males are perceived as less of a man or even labelled as ‘homosexual’ for choosing a feministic sport. A great example was in the famous movie ‘Billy Elliot’ when ‘Billy’s’ family, teacher and peers shared their views on his participation in ballet. These views can influence girls and boys’ attitudes towards their ability and what they should participate in. As a result of stereotyping, male and female opportunities in sport are affected having a negative effect in participation. The media also plays a vital role in how people perceive gender in sport. Over 90% of sports coverage is focused upon male sports, and male sporting personalities. This leaves just over 5% for any female sport coverage which is often focused upon appearance, sex symbolism, or personal lives rather than the actual sporting abilities of women. "In 2004, less than one quarter of all representatives on strategic sports boards and committees were women and there were no women sports editors of national papers." (www.whatworksforwomen.org.uk – Women’s Sport Foundation 2005). This is evident in women’s tennis, a serious woman athlete should also aspire to be a hot babe and pleasing to men, for the male chauvinist, an attitude that still exist in today’s society. In spite of her reputation for being a phenomenal competitor and her performances in tennis, Maria Sharapova is still seen as a ‘sex symbol’, instead of being respected as a serious, professional athlete. www.google.com – Google images - Maria Sharapova - http://www.ladiescourt.com What women really need are role models in sport to look up to and inspire them to take part in sport. These women should show that women do play sport, and can compete at the highest level yet still uphold feminine traditions by raising a family, while being successful in their sport. The main problem is that you never hear about women’s success in sport because of the male dominant figures that are present in today’s society. What really needs to change is the media reporting of sport. There should be more women’s coverage to give women realistic role models to strive to be, which in turn, will help female participation in sport. Ethnicity "An ethnic group is a population of human beings whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry." (www.wikipedia.org). In simple terms an ethnic group is a community of people who share common cultural traditions, religious backgrounds or physical appearance. Recently, ethnicity has been open to debate and often revolves around the question: who are the minority? The minority is normally groups that are small in number or out numbered. People who live in countries that are not their original birthplace generally have to reinforce their identity to those that challenge the minority. These minorities are discriminated according to their skin colour and religious backgrounds. Yet for many people their ethnic identity says a lot about who they are and plays an important part in their lives. Therefore living in a nation based on majority rules can make the interests and issues raised by minorities seem less important than those of the majority. Results on ethnicity and religion from the 2001 Census reveal that 87.5 per cent of the population of England and Wales (seven out of eight people) gave their ethnic group as ‘White British’. These results clearly identify that ‘Black’ and ‘Asian’ group ethnics are in the minority in Great Britain. This makes it even more difficult for them to fit in a society that is predominantly white British. I am now going to look at the participation in sports by ethnic minorities and the opportunities that are present and prevent them from taking part. Racism is ‘treating someone differently or unfairly simply because they belong to a different race or cultural background’. Racism is not just a black and white thing. Many children in schools are picked on because they look different, or have different religious beliefs. As part of people’s religion they are required to wear certain clothing, yet racists threaten their beliefs and often bully them because of this. Nobody is born a racist. It’s through the process of socialisation that determines our views and beliefs. Therefore if a child or a young person grows up within a family, a racist family, or socialises with people who are racist, they may believe that racism is normal and acceptable in today’s society. It’s through people’s lack of understanding or naivety around these issues that leads to racism. Developing people’s understanding will increase their knowledge around the democratic issue of racism, which, in turn will help decrease racism. Racism is predominantly found in white schools, amongst young people. Name-calling seems to be the main expression for racism. Most people are unwilling to acknowledge that concepts of race might play a part in their everyday lives. Young children come to accept racism, instead of facing up to it, allowing people to get away with it. Going back to my opening quote about ‘sport engages more people in a shared experience’, it also helps unite people of all nationalities and races; bringing them together to share the same experiences and opportunities through sport. On the other hand some ethnic minority groups still find themselves underprivileged in the sporting world. Obvious examples for Asians, involvement in high profile sports such as football are shadowed with the lack of role models for young Asians. Role models are an important part in encouraging and engaging young Asians, Whites and Blacks to take part in physical activity. The lack of Asian role models may hinder young Asians wanting to pursue a career in sport. The only sport for Asians to make international achievements has been cricket. Reducing their opportunities to partake in different sports and sometimes limiting their chances to take part in cricket, because it is not seen as a dominant sport in the school curriculum. It’s believed that some Asian parents do not encourage their children to involve in sport due to their culture. Instead they believe that academic success has more importance. For Laker (2001) in Asian culture education is highly valued commodity, whereas a career in sport is seen as being precarious and short term. It’s for these reasons that more Asians focus on career opportunities in fields with high incomes such as surgeons and doctors. www.google.com – Google images – Indian cricketers - www.southasiabiz.com Other concerns for Asian parents are the considerable amount of racist taunts from spectators in football that makes Asians reluctant to participate in sport. Up until the last 10 years sporting governing bodies have not taken action on racism. Today national governing bodies have taken action to stamp out racism in sport. Mass amounts of money have been spent to advertise ‘anti racism’ and support ‘equal opportunities in sport’. Different merchandise and publicity stunts have taken place to promote people’s awareness. Many famous celebrities have got in on the act, going out to local communities to support youth centres and schools. The launch of ‘Stand Up, Speak Up’ took place 2 years ago. Players in football were asked to wear black and white wrist bands as part of an anti-racism program. It proved to be a success with an immediate decrease of racism in football today. Thierry Henry was one of the main faces to promote scheme. www.google .com – Google images – Racism Thierry Henry -www.double3.com/images/posts/StandUpSpeakUp. Although racism is rarely seen in sport these days, sadly it is still a familiar sight when it comes to the media and for some ethnic groups. There are still problems with racist chanting and harassment. With less than 40 people a year successfully prosecuted for racist chanting in the UK. The English Premier league still holds very few British born Asian players. It is also said that there is only an estimated 15% of professional footballers that are Black. There are several initiatives in place to wipe this out, and make the sport more welcoming to people from ethnic minorities. It’s for these reasons that ethnic minorities have in the past been excluded in sport and overlooked by coaches, and the media. If people showed more commitment to racial equality it will help encourage more people from all ethnic backgrounds to participate in sport. It will also lead to fairer opportunities for ethnic groups to pursue a career in sport at the highest level. Looking to improve and stamp out these different dynamic relationships will help those ethnic groups enjoy their experiences through sport and increase participation in sport for the future. Class Social class for most people is judging people by there worth or social standings. People still live in a materialistic world where money means everything. Criticising people because they are not dressed accordingly, the way they speak, their manners and whether the face fits in their social surroundings. People are normally grouped according to their wealth. These social class divisions are the upper class, middle class and the working class. These judgements normally involve embarrassment leaving people ashamed about whom they are. This leaves people feeling inferior, which often means that mostly members of a particular social class engage in certain leisure activities. It’s for these reasons sports are categorised into wealth and social class. Reducing people’s opportunities to take in a wide spread of sports or a sport of their choice. Class has deep historical roots in sport in Great Britain. The history of sport can tell us a lot about social changes in class and the structure of sporting activities and how they were formed. Living in a society where people having different beliefs and upbringings can determine what sports people chose to participate in. "The sociology of sport have found that the higher one’s social class, the greater is one’s over all involvement in sports, but less likely is one’s involvement in what have come to be called ‘prole’ sports." (www.irs.sagepub.com). ‘Prole’ sports are associated with the ‘Middle’ class in our society. I am now going to look at the different sports that are grouped according to class and address the problems associated with class in sport. Firstly we need to look at the social class divisions of inequality that stand today and whether they are going to change or stay the same. Social classes play a part in our society; therefore it is important to address these issues to increase participation in sport. The idea of social mixing is normally frowned upon and seen as taboo. If sporting governing bodies can encourage members to socialise with different groups it may help people enjoy sport together, through participation, being a spectator or talking about it with friends. If people can socialise together from different social backgrounds it will help raise people’s ambitions and respect for one another. An example that shows the divide between the social classes is in our education systems. Parents believe that education is an important part in the up bringing of their children. The social classing of schools is one of the main problems preventing class groups from mixing. Most ‘Upper’ class children attend private schools, reducing their chances to socialise with kids of the ‘Working’ class simply because they cannot afford the fees to go to such schools. Private schools operate different education criteria’s. Sports played in private schools normally involve mass amounts of wealth. Children taking part in sports like lacrosse, polo, crochet and dance. If a child does not like playing these sports it limits their choices to participate in sport. The idea of social mixing is not always very optimistic, because people are very reluctant to break traditional views on social class. www.google.com - Google image – polo - http://www.lakewoodranch.com/images/pageImages/6B-Polo.jpg Children that attend state schools and partake in state education are more likely to participate in working class sports such as football, boxing and rugby. These children are normally underprivileged and don’t have the same opportunities to play sport due to lack of facilities and funding provided. It had been said the people who belong to the working class prefer to be spectators rather than be participants in sport. It’s fact, that the lower working classes have a far higher involvement in watching televised sport, than the upper class. Primarily because they cant afford to be spectators at the sporting events. Conclusion Even though individuals may not have an interest in sports, society, friends and the media still play an influential role in forcing people to make sport part of their lives. Whether it be watching a game in a pub or with a friend talking about sports. No matter how hard people try to avoid it, someone out there is always talking about what is going on in the sporting world today. However it is important to remember although everyone goes through socialization, not everyone goes through the same socialization experiences. People have different ways of seeing the same event, situation or object, day-to-day life and sport. People will apply their interpretation of sporting experiences in different ways to the decisions they make for the rest of their lives, transferring the same experience and applying them to their lives in different ways as they get older. There is no reason to assume that those who do not participate in organized sports, do not gain experiences that overlap with those available in sport from other activities. Below is a recent article that I found in ‘The Sun’ newspaper. As you can see participation in sport is still a problem to this very day. After finding out what all the problems which were preventing people from participating in sport and why people may not choose to take part in sport, I came to the conclusion that participation doesn’t have to be just taking part. Participation might just mean watching as well as playing, or working to promote sport, or even watching it on TV. There is still hope for us all to take up a sport and enjoy new experiences with others in an equal opportunity world. For some people sport just doesn’t matter and changing their views on taking part in sport, reducing the inequalities in the sporting world will increase participation while building a community where people feel comfortable sharing their experiences with people from all walks of life. Games lessons for obese kids Sitting out ... obese pupils are missing important exercise By DAVID WOODING, Whitehall Editor, Published: Jan '08 NEARLY a million pupils are doing less than the two hours a week of PE and sport recommended by the Government, official figures revealed yesterday. The huge number represents a devastating setback to Labour’s drive to combat rising obesity rates among the young. And it leaves ministers with a daunting task to meet their pledge to increase compulsory sport to four hours a week by 2010. The figures revealed that 14 per cent of five to 16-year-olds— numbering 900,000— was missing the minimum weekly target of two hours’ high-quality activity. Lib-Dem schools spokesman David Laws — who obtained the figures after a Parliamentary question — warned the Government must act. Child obesity has doubled in the past ten years, and ten per cent of six-year-olds and 17 per cent of 15-year-olds are now overweight. Mr. Laws said: “As more kids grow up obese, sport at school becomes absolutely vital. “How can we expect to find and train Olympic champions of the future if children aren’t taking part in sport at school?” Mr. Laws also said kids’ break-time exercise had been hit by the selling-off of 1,000 small playing fields since 2001. But a spokesman for the Department of Children said: “The vast majority of kids do at least two hours a week — up from 25 per cent in 2002. “These 14 per cent are the hardcore not taking the chance to do sport. “We are targeting obese or unmotivated children in our £2billion investment in coaching and facilities by 2012, with new, non-traditional exercise — from dance to midnight basketball". http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article643929.ece REFERENCES Website www.whatworksforwomen.org.uk Women’s Sport Foundation 2006. www.fmwf.com Julie Welch, 2006. www.whatworksforwomen.org.uk – Women’s Sport Foundation 2005 www.wikipedia.org www.irs.sagepub.com www.thesun.co.uk Books Burstyn,V.,(1999) The Rites of Men. (Chapter 1 ‘The Sociology of Sport:What is it and why study it?’ pp.8) Horne, J., Tomlinson, A. And Whannel, G. (1999)Understanding Sport: An Introduction to the Sociological and Cultural Analysis of Sport, London, Spon. (Chapter 5 ‘Socialisation- social interations and development’ pp.131) Laker, A., (2001) The Sociology of Sport and Physical Education: An Introductory Reader pp.104 2001 Census Rate This Article Last Edited on 14-Jan-2008 8:20 AM