The production of new sport cultures: the case of breaking

Mikhail Batuev

Chapter 21 in Handbook on Sport and Culture, 2025, pp 316-329 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter discusses the cultural production of breaking, an illustrative case for the making of new sporting cultures in an era of Olympic movement modernisation. Rooted in hip-hop culture, breaking emerged in 1970s New York as a way for African American, Caribbean, and Latin American individuals and groups to express their identities through movement. A distinctive breaking subculture has manifested through several authentic elements, such as breaking language, musicality, and cypher. While many still perceive breaking as an anti-authoritarian activity and even a form of art resistant to market forces, it is evident that, since the early 2000s, breaking has been increasingly saturated by the practice of capitalism, exploited by commercial organisations, and institutionalised by governing bodies. The rapid sportification of breaking inevitably leads to some concerns that its unique culture might be compromised. However, the associated redistribution of wealth, further professionalisation, and specialisation seemingly appeal to many breaking athletes, coaches, and businesses.

Keywords: Breaking; Sport; Culture production; Olympics; Dancing; Subculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035339976
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035339983.00037 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:23613_27

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().