Sociology of sport


Sociology of sport, alternately referred to as sports sociology, is a sub-discipline of sociology which focuses on sports as social phenomena. It is an area of study concerned with the relationship between sociology and sports, and also various socio-cultural structures, patterns, and organizations or groups involved with sport. This area of study discusses the positive impact sports have on individual people and society as a whole economically, financially, and socially. Sociology of sport attempts to view the actions and behavior of sports teams and their players through the eyes of a sociologist.
Sport is regulated by regulations and rules of behavior, spatial and time constraints, and has governing bodies. It is oriented towards a goal, which makes known both the winner and the loser. It is competitive, and ludic. All sports are culturally situated, intertwined with the value systems and power relations within the host society.
The emergence of the sociology of sport dates from the end of the 19th century, when first social psychological experiments dealing with group effects of competition and pace-making took place. Besides cultural anthropology and its interest in games in the human culture, one of the first efforts to think about sports in a more general way was Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens or Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class. Homo Ludens discusses the importance of the element of play in culture and society. Huizinga suggests that play, specifically sport, is primary to and a necessary condition of the generation of culture. These written works contributed to the rise of the study of sociology of sport. In 1970, sports sociology gained significant attention as an organized, legitimate field of study. The North American Society for the Sociology of Sport was formed in 1978 with the objective of studying the field. Its research outlet, the Sociology of Sport Journal, was formed in 1984.
It is a common assumption that sports can be viewed as a ritual and a game at the same time. Sports as a result can be viewed as a parallel ritual process which is connected to leisure time and freedom. The symbolic effect of a ritual allows classification of social relationships among men and between women and men, as well as the impact sports has on nations. Some national sports like baseball in Cuba, cricket in the West Indies, and football in a majority of Latin American countries drive passion that goes past the ethnic status, regional origins, or class lines. Therefore, sport is an important field of analysis for achieving better understanding of the functioning of modern societies.

Race and sports

1936 Berlin Games

There was controversy around the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, as the rhetoric and laws of the host country encompassed, and indeed were largely based on, overt and extreme racism. Many Germans were dismayed that nonwhite athletes were allowed to compete; the "Nazis were deeply offended by sporting contacts with 'primitive' races and by competing against Negro athletes, in particular."
Adolf Hitler agreed with the proposition people who had ancestors who "came from the jungle" were "primitive because their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites." and wanted to impose racial segregation on the games, but the Olympic Committee refused. The Nazi regime did, however, use any results they could to propagandize the superiority of what they called the Aryan race.

Historical racist theories

Sport has always been characterized by racial social relationships. The first scientific look at race came at the end of the 19th century, when count Arthur de Gobineau attempted to prove the physical and intellectual superiority of the white race. Darwin's theory of natural selection was used in service of racism as well. After the athletic ability of black sportspeople was proven, the theory shifted toward physical ability at the expense of intellect.
Several racist theories were advanced. Black people were athletically able because animals ate all the slow ones. The myth of "middle passage" posited only the most athletically able of black people were able to survive the slave trade and plantation work. The matriarchal theory suggested that absent fathers made black people channel their anger into sports, with coaches becoming father figures. The mandigo theory assumed that the most physically potent black men were bred with the most physically potent black women. The psychological theory claimed that black athletes did not have the intellectual capacity to assume leadership positions in sports. The "dumb jock theory" saw black people enrolling on sport scholarships as they were unable to find success in academia. Lastly, the genetic theory suggested that black sportspeople had more of certain muscle fibers.

Current sociology

Young African Americans see sports as means of upward social mobility, which is denied to them through conventional employment. Race often interplays with class, gender and ethnicity to determine how accessible certain sports are, and how the athlete is perceived. For example, golf is inaccessible to African Americans less because of race, and more because of the high economic and social capital needed.
Race is often connected to gender, with women having less opportunities to access and succeed in sports. Once a woman does succeed, her race is downplayed and her sexuality is accentuated. In certain cultures, especially Muslim ones, women are denied access to sports all-together.
In team sports, white players are often placed in central positions which demand intelligence, decisiveness, leadership, calmness and reliability. Black players are in turn place in positions that demand athletic ability, physical strength, speed and explosiveness. For example, white players in the role of central midfielders and black players as wingers.

Gender in sports

Female participation in sports is influenced by patriarchal ideologies surrounding the body, as well as ideas of femininity and sexuality. Physical exertion inevitably leads to development of muscle, which is connected to masculinity, which is in contrast to the idea of women as presented by modern consumer culture. Women who enter sports early are more likely to challenge these stereotypes.
Television networks and corporations focus on showcasing female athlete which are considered as attractive, which trivializes the achievements of these sportswomen. Women's sports are less covered by news than male sports. During sporting events, the camera focuses on specifically on attractive women. Allen Guttman argues that erotic component of sports cannot be rooted out, and as such remains one of its key components. Further, attractive male and female athletes will always be more sought after. The erotic component of sports should be researched, instead of being outright rejected.
Jennifer Hargreaves sees three political strategies for women in sports:
  • Co-option: this strategy rejects conservative claims of biological differences and traditional gender values. Liberal feminists believe women will gradually take over more roles within sport created and controlled by men.
  • Separatism: position held by radical feminists, which advocates self-realization through organization of sport events and governing bodies independent of men. It would further increase the number of women competing in various sports.
  • Cooperation: advocated by socialist feminists who believe that cooperation between men and women would help to establish new sporting models that would negate gender differences. They recognize the diversity of struggles within modern capitalist societies, and aims at liberation from them. Unlike separatism it engages with men, and is more extensive than co-option. Co-operation posits that men are not inherently oppressive, but are socialized into reproducing oppressive roles.

    Theories in sociology of sport

Functionalism

Structural functionalist theories see society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Sport itself developed from religious ceremonies, which served to promote social and moral solidarity of the community.
Bromberger saw similarities between religious ceremonies and football matches. Matches are held in a particular spatial configuration, pitches are sacred and may not be polluted by pitch invaders, and lead to intense emotional states in fans. As with religious ceremonies, spectators are spatially distributed according to social distribution of power. Football seasons have a fixed calendar. Group roles on match day are ceremonial, with specially robed people performing intense ritual acts. As a church, football has an organizational network, from local to global levels. Matches have a sequential order that guides the actions of participants, from pre-match to post-match actions. Lastly, football rituals create a sense of communitas. Songs and choreography can be seen as an immanent ceremony through which spectators transfer their strength to the team.
Accounting for the fact that not all actions support the existing societal structure, Robert K. Merton saw five ways a person could react to the existing structure, which can be applied to sports as well: conformism, innovation, ritualism, withdrawal, and rebellion.
Erving Goffman drew on Durkheim's conception of positive rituals, emphasizing the sacred status of an individual's "face". Positive and negative rituals all serve to protect one's face. Sport journalists, for example, utilize both the positive and negative rituals to protect the face of the athlete they wish to maintain good relations with. Birrell furthermore posits sport events are ritual competitions in which athletes show their character through a mix of bravery, good play and integrity. A good showing serves to reinforce the good face of the athlete.