Punishment through discipline has existed within various different contexts throughout history; each specific form of discipline, through empirical evidence, has been proven to be moderately successful helping offenders reduce recidivism. This essay will first discuss the fundamental similarities in discipline regarding participations in sports and the military within a historical context; addressing how the concept of hypermasculinity has evolved in significant ways to influence the effectiveness of both athletic and military discipline in reducing recidivism. Then, it will examine the positive and negative ideological associations resulting from sport and military participation, and argue that ultimately, participation in sport has more positive
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Both participation and sports and military are rooted in the concept of channeling aggressive masculinity: through structure and discipline, criminal offenders find an outlet for their masculine aggression and violence in a useful and beneficial way. For example, during the English Civil War a fundamental aspect of military service was the idea of giving the army something to do, so they wouldn’t be deviant - a crucial example of channeling masculine energy into a productive form (Watson 27 Jan 2016). Separate from the intricacies of hypermasculinity, both participation in sports and military use similar basic ideas of structure and discipline - for example, early hours of waking, hours of dedication, and intense physical hardship, to shape individuals, and therefore both have a role to play, to some extent, in reducing …show more content…
Participation through military service is seen as a spiritual sacrifice: the act of fighting for and “paying back” the country redeems the individual in the eyes of God. However, absolution through military service is not considered punishment, because although there is a sacrifice there is no fundamental suffering completed on the path to rehabilitation. Hamm (2009) discusses the fundamentals of Islam as rehabilitation, repentance, and reform: absolution through military service fails to harness these “three R’s,” because there is too much importance placed on external action, and not enough on internal
Both participation and sports and military are rooted in the concept of channeling aggressive masculinity: through structure and discipline, criminal offenders find an outlet for their masculine aggression and violence in a useful and beneficial way. For example, during the English Civil War a fundamental aspect of military service was the idea of giving the army something to do, so they wouldn’t be deviant - a crucial example of channeling masculine energy into a productive form (Watson 27 Jan 2016). Separate from the intricacies of hypermasculinity, both participation in sports and military use similar basic ideas of structure and discipline - for example, early hours of waking, hours of dedication, and intense physical hardship, to shape individuals, and therefore both have a role to play, to some extent, in reducing …show more content…
Participation through military service is seen as a spiritual sacrifice: the act of fighting for and “paying back” the country redeems the individual in the eyes of God. However, absolution through military service is not considered punishment, because although there is a sacrifice there is no fundamental suffering completed on the path to rehabilitation. Hamm (2009) discusses the fundamentals of Islam as rehabilitation, repentance, and reform: absolution through military service fails to harness these “three R’s,” because there is too much importance placed on external action, and not enough on internal