Social Stratification, Gender and Sport Participation

Aaron Reeves

Sociological Research Online, 2012, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Correlations between social class and sport participation have frequently been observed ( Crook 1997 ; Ceron-Anaya 2010 ; Dollman and Lewis 2010 ; Stalsberg and Pedersen 2010 ). However, discrete associations between occupational class positions and specific sporting activities overlook the complex interrelationships amongst these sports. Until recently understanding the relationality of sport has been constrained by a lack of available and appropriate data. Work by Bourdieu (1984) , and more recently Bennett et al. (2009) , have explored the general field of cultural consumption and sport has been one dimension of these treatments. Using multiple correspondence analysis ( Le Roux and Rouanet 2004 ), this research focuses upon the social space of sport participation in Britain in order to provide a more detailed account of how these activities are organised. From data in the Taking-Part Survey (n = 10,349), which was gathered between July 2005-October 2006, 19 sporting practices are situated along four key dimensions. The first dimension separates gender and corresponds to a division between an embodied or social focus. Dimension two captures the impact of age. Internal and external orientations divide dimension three, where men tend to be internally oriented. Class, education and social status are significant along this dimension. Dimension four differentiates self-employed and manual workers; reinforcing occupational and educational differences. Consequently, the social space of sports participation cannot be neatly contained within the logic of class; other explanations drawing on friendship, education and embodiment are also required.

Keywords: Bourdieu; Sport; Culture; Class; Gender; Education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socres:v:17:y:2012:i:2:p:1-17

DOI: 10.5153/sro.2598

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