Sport has a prominent place in contemporary American society. Mainstream American sport such as Baseball, Basketball, and Football are some of the most widely viewed events. In addition, sport is a highly emotional spectacle, which both unites and divides individuals. On the one hand, sport and physical culture are partially constructed by and used to construct the political and economic backdrop of America. The neoliberal society is reproduced through sport and physical culture. American sport emphasizes the ideals of merit based success and individualism. Additionally, Sport has been commercialized and is used not only to make a profit, but also to help sell products and services for other corporations. On the other hand, American sport reproduces
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Sport is used to reproduce the principles of a neoliberal society. America uses sport as a vehicle to unite the country. Jay Coakley describes the connection as a way to maintain social solidarity, “As leaders at all levels seek to establish popular forms of identification… it becomes common to foster connections with national and regional sport teams and athletes” (Coakley, 2011, p. 74). Sport is used to bond citizens under one ideology and in the case of the Olympics the United Sates bonds behind their athletes. Sport also reproduces the ideals of the consumer economy, which is the foundation of a neoliberal society. As states by Coakley, “[the Olympic games] provide opportunities for large corporations to incessantly inject into public discourse messages promoting consumption as a lifestyle as well as their products” (Coakley, 2011, p. 75). In addition, the neoliberal society stresses a merit based reward system. In American sport athletes are idolized as hardworking and perseverant. Samantha Retrosi, a former U.S Olympic athlete, stated in an article how this ideology was engrained in her as a child, “I spent my childhood pursuing Olympic glory, which epitomizes the American dream of merit-based success” (2014). As a result, youth are taught the American dream of hard work leading to …show more content…
On the one hand, Modern gymnasiums are a very prominent display of this hierarchy. There are two main forms of exercise, cardio and weight lifting. In a gym these are typically grouped in terms of placement of equipment. However, if you observe the sexes of the individuals that dominate the two areas, it is easy to see the polarity. Cardio areas tend to be female dominated while weight lifting tends to be male dominated. This displays the gender norm; men typically wish to be viewed as powerful, dominant, and muscular. On the other hand, women tend to want their bodies to represent passive, elegant, and slender beings. Consequently, the types of workouts the two genders participate in are processes to produce this generally accepted ideal. The hegemonic idea of gender is reinforced through this divide. On the other hand, sport also reproduces the ideal masculine body. One article suggests that sport reproduces, “the dominant masculine image in the western world is of man the hunter, competitor, hero and conqueror” (Dobre-Laza, 1997, p. 1). Male dominated sport tends to be highly violent with the winner appearing to be conquering the loser. Such sports include, football and rugby. Dobre-Laza also discusses feminine sport and how it reproduces gender
Sport is used to reproduce the principles of a neoliberal society. America uses sport as a vehicle to unite the country. Jay Coakley describes the connection as a way to maintain social solidarity, “As leaders at all levels seek to establish popular forms of identification… it becomes common to foster connections with national and regional sport teams and athletes” (Coakley, 2011, p. 74). Sport is used to bond citizens under one ideology and in the case of the Olympics the United Sates bonds behind their athletes. Sport also reproduces the ideals of the consumer economy, which is the foundation of a neoliberal society. As states by Coakley, “[the Olympic games] provide opportunities for large corporations to incessantly inject into public discourse messages promoting consumption as a lifestyle as well as their products” (Coakley, 2011, p. 75). In addition, the neoliberal society stresses a merit based reward system. In American sport athletes are idolized as hardworking and perseverant. Samantha Retrosi, a former U.S Olympic athlete, stated in an article how this ideology was engrained in her as a child, “I spent my childhood pursuing Olympic glory, which epitomizes the American dream of merit-based success” (2014). As a result, youth are taught the American dream of hard work leading to …show more content…
On the one hand, Modern gymnasiums are a very prominent display of this hierarchy. There are two main forms of exercise, cardio and weight lifting. In a gym these are typically grouped in terms of placement of equipment. However, if you observe the sexes of the individuals that dominate the two areas, it is easy to see the polarity. Cardio areas tend to be female dominated while weight lifting tends to be male dominated. This displays the gender norm; men typically wish to be viewed as powerful, dominant, and muscular. On the other hand, women tend to want their bodies to represent passive, elegant, and slender beings. Consequently, the types of workouts the two genders participate in are processes to produce this generally accepted ideal. The hegemonic idea of gender is reinforced through this divide. On the other hand, sport also reproduces the ideal masculine body. One article suggests that sport reproduces, “the dominant masculine image in the western world is of man the hunter, competitor, hero and conqueror” (Dobre-Laza, 1997, p. 1). Male dominated sport tends to be highly violent with the winner appearing to be conquering the loser. Such sports include, football and rugby. Dobre-Laza also discusses feminine sport and how it reproduces gender