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16 pages, 264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Contested Terrain of Sporting Consumption: Navigating Meaning, Identity, and Late Capitalist Marketing through Sneaker Customization

by Brandon T. Wallace and David L. Andrews

Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(8), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080383 - 23 Jul 2024

Viewed by 390

Abstract

This discussion critically examines and questions assumptions about the meanings and motivations of sporting consumption. We argue that the practice of sneaker customization demonstrates the contested terrain of sporting consumption, wherein contemporary consumerism is characterized by a dynamic interplay between top–down structural determination [...] Read more.

This discussion critically examines and questions assumptions about the meanings and motivations of sporting consumption. We argue that the practice of sneaker customization demonstrates the contested terrain of sporting consumption, wherein contemporary consumerism is characterized by a dynamic interplay between top–down structural determination (by mass commercial forces) and bottom–up creative agency (by everyday consumers). Based on in-depth interviews with 15 sneaker consumers, we narrate the complexities of late capitalist consumer culture through three overlapping “tensions” between the commercial sneaker industry and everyday sneaker consumers: (1) Sneakers as a vehicle to express individuality versus to demonstrate conformity; (2) Sneaker customization as a means of artistic expression versus being a commodity rationalized to maximize profit; (3) An affective versus instrumental attachment to sneakers. Overall, the analysis illuminates how the cultural and affective meanings that consumers attach to sneaker consumption operate; sometimes in conjunction with, more often in opposition to, but always in tension with the meanings that the sneaker industry attempts to embed through its ever-expansive means of marketing and advertising. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

16 pages, 493 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Athlete Maltreatment as a Wicked Problem and Contested Terrain

by Haewan Park, Michael P. Sam and Steven J. Jackson

Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070376 - 20 Jul 2024

Viewed by 439

Abstract

Athlete maltreatment in organized sport has attracted considerable attention from governing bodies, stakeholders and the general public. Despite numerous studies and policy proposals from various countries, the problem remains unresolved due to its inherent complexity. Drawing upon the concept of ‘a wicked problem’ [...] Read more.

Athlete maltreatment in organized sport has attracted considerable attention from governing bodies, stakeholders and the general public. Despite numerous studies and policy proposals from various countries, the problem remains unresolved due to its inherent complexity. Drawing upon the concept of ‘a wicked problem’ widely utilized in policy analysis, this study first identifies the wicked features of maltreatment, focusing on: (1) the difficulty of establishing a definition of maltreatment; (2) the challenges of identifying its causes; and (3) the impediments to identifying solutions in a context of embedded stakeholders and unintended consequences. To provide further analysis, we compare athlete maltreatment with other issues in sport such as doping and match-fixing, to suggest that lessons can be drawn from other wicked problems in the same contested terrain. Overall, given the complex interplay between maltreatment and the maintenance/legitimization of sport systems, this paper calls for continuing attention and evaluation of existing research/policies and advocates for a more multidimensional view that acknowledges maltreatment as a wicked problem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

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13 pages, 302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Contested Terrain of Sport and Well-Being: Health and Wellness or Wellbeing Washing?

by Steven J. Jackson, Michael P. Sam and Marcelle C. Dawson

Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070366 - 11 Jul 2024

Viewed by 688

Abstract

Wellbeing has firmly established itself within contemporary practice, politics and policy. Indeed, the cultural, commercial, and terrestrial landscape of the concept is staggering and manifests within popular discourse and across global organisations and institutions, national governments, workplaces, and consumer lifestyle products and services. [...] Read more.

Wellbeing has firmly established itself within contemporary practice, politics and policy. Indeed, the cultural, commercial, and terrestrial landscape of the concept is staggering and manifests within popular discourse and across global organisations and institutions, national governments, workplaces, and consumer lifestyle products and services. Notably, the field of sport, exercise, and physical activity has been identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations, and the OECD as a key sector with the potential to contribute to people’s wellbeing. This should not be surprising given that there is a large body of literature espousing the benefits of regular physical activity (in myriad forms) as part of a healthy lifestyle. However, there are increasing concerns that wellbeing’s global ubiquity may be leading to a range of unintended consequences and/or unscrupulous practices within both international organisations and nation-states. This largely conceptual essay focuses on the concept and process of wellbeing washing by (1) tracing the historical roots and evolution of wellbeing; (2) exploring its reconceptualization within the framework of neoliberalism; (3) offering a preliminary outline of the concept of wellbeing washing; and (4) briefly describing how wellbeing washing is manifesting within the context of sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Overall, this analysis explores wellbeing as a contested terrain of interests marked by a range of complexities and contradictions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

16 pages, 1141 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contested Terrains: Mega-Event Securities and Everyday Practices of Governance

by Amanda De Lisio, Michael Silk and Philip Hubbard

Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070360 - 5 Jul 2024

Viewed by 522

Abstract

Sport mega-events (SMEs) remake cities as global brandscapes of leisured consumption; reliant in part upon securitization designed to create an atmosphere free from disturbance and render invisible those “abject” populations who might puncture the tourist bubble that surrounds stadia and fan-zones. Yet, such [...] Read more.

Sport mega-events (SMEs) remake cities as global brandscapes of leisured consumption; reliant in part upon securitization designed to create an atmosphere free from disturbance and render invisible those “abject” populations who might puncture the tourist bubble that surrounds stadia and fan-zones. Yet, such “shiny” cityspaces are not devoid of complexity, contestation, and compunction. In this paper, we draw on extensive ethnographic- and community-based participatory research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (prior to, during, and after two SMEs) collected in collaboration with sex workers, working in areas of SME intervention. Our focus is on the contingent nature of securitization amidst the contested terrains and trajectories of SME urbanism. Our analysis resonates with observations from other host cities, challenging dominant myths that the sport mega-event creates impermeable securitized cityscapes by revealing the fluid topography of formality and informality, contestation and negotiation, and oppression and power. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

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15 pages, 342 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rethinking Sporting Mystification in the Present Tense: Disneylimpics, Affective Neoliberalism, and the Greatest Transformation

by Junbin Yang

Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(4), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040226 - 20 Apr 2024

Viewed by 1139

Abstract

While questioning the universalization, naturalization, neutralization, and idealization of sport and physical culture, this paper examines the ultimate mystification process of sport and physical culture by expanding upon two conceptual frameworks: Jules Boykoff’s celebration capitalism and Lawrence Grossberg’s affective landscape. It first analyzes [...] Read more.

While questioning the universalization, naturalization, neutralization, and idealization of sport and physical culture, this paper examines the ultimate mystification process of sport and physical culture by expanding upon two conceptual frameworks: Jules Boykoff’s celebration capitalism and Lawrence Grossberg’s affective landscape. It first analyzes the evolution of the Olympics into a corporatized, commercialized, spectacularized, and celebritized “Disneylimpics” that can consistently evoke an affective reverberation. It then introduces the idea of “affective neoliberalism” to highlight neoliberalism’s affective and ideological aspects. With Grossberg’s concept of affective landscape, this paper explores the internalization and intensification of anxiety and affective isolation within society. Additionally, the paper utilizes Karl Polanyi’s analysis in his influential book, The Great Transformation, to investigate the historical expansion of affective neoliberalism. By highlighting the 11 September 2001, attacks in the United States, it points out provocative militarization and (re)organization of the soul into a fictitious commodity, in addition to labor, land, and money, which triggers the greatest transformation. Lastly, summarizing central arguments, this paper concludes with modest suggestions, mainly focusing on two questions: (1) where are we now? and (2) how can we more effectively respond to the present context? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

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15 pages, 333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

‘I’ve Always Fought a Little against the Tide to Get Where I Want to Be’—Construction of Women’s Embodied Subjectivity in the Contested Terrain of High-Level Karate

by Fabiana Cristina Turelli, Alexandre Fernandez Vaz and David Kirk

Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(10), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12100538 - 25 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1396

Abstract

Karate can be both a martial art and a combat sport. Male and female karate athletes attended the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 (2021). Elite sport often portrays female athletes through the sexualization of their bodies, while the martial environment leaves them open to [...] Read more.

Karate can be both a martial art and a combat sport. Male and female karate athletes attended the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 (2021). Elite sport often portrays female athletes through the sexualization of their bodies, while the martial environment leaves them open to accusations of masculinization. In the process of constructing themselves as fighters, karateka women do produce new ways of performing femininities and masculinities, which is a hard-work process of negotiations, leading them to the construction of a particular habitus strictly linked to their performativity within the environment. They take part in a contested terrain that mixes several elements that are often contrasting. In this article, we aim to present factors identified with the women athletes of the Spanish Olympic karate team that affect the construction of their embodied subjectivities. We focus on two main topics, authenticity as the real deal to belonging, and a possible gendered habitus struggling with the achievement of the condition of a warrior. We carried out an ethnographic study with the Spanish Olympic karate squad supported by autoethnographic elements from the first author. We focus here on the data from double interviews with 14 women athletes and their four male coaches. Embodied subjectivity as a process of subject construction to disrupt objectification and forms of othering showed to be a challenge, a complex task, and embedded in contradictions. Karate women’s embodied subjectivities are built in the transit between resisting and giving in. Despite several difficulties, through awareness and reflection on limitations, karateka may occupy their place as subjects, exerting agency, feeling empowered, and fighting consciously against the naturalized ‘tide’. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

15 pages, 328 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sport for Social Cohesion: Transferring from the Pitch to the Community?

by Louis Moustakas

Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(11), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11110513 - 11 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3657

Abstract

European sport policies and programmes have increasingly focused on promoting social cohesion. Often presented as a multi-dimensional concept, social cohesion is considered the ‘glue’ that holds societies together and is seen as essential to addressing common challenges. However, the term remains contested, and [...] Read more.

European sport policies and programmes have increasingly focused on promoting social cohesion. Often presented as a multi-dimensional concept, social cohesion is considered the ‘glue’ that holds societies together and is seen as essential to addressing common challenges. However, the term remains contested, and it is not always clear how programmes conceptualize or support social cohesion. Thus, this paper explores how three European sport programmes conceptualize and foster social cohesion. Findings are generated from a thematic analysis of interviews, group discussions, observations and documents. The themes developed show how organizations adopt an individual-centerd view of social cohesion, focusing mainly on social relations, tolerance and mutual help. In turn, this translates to an individual-focused practice of social cohesion, emphasizing personal skills, behaviors, and social relations, with the transfer of social cohesion to the broader community left mostly in participants’ hands. Due to a number of systemic barriers, programmes struggle to implement more holistic and structural approaches. As such, if we want to facilitate a move towards more structural or interventionist approaches, we as researchers must play an active role in questioning, challenging, and reshaping the systems that underpin sport-based social interventions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

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10 pages, 254 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

Evolution of the Olympic Movement: Adapting to Contemporary Global Challenges

by Yannis Theodorakis, Konstantinos Georgiadis and Mary Hassandra

Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070326 - 21 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1137

Abstract

This paper explores the diverse impact of the Olympic Movement on society, emphasizing core values like ‘excellence’, ‘friendship’, and ‘respect’. Traditionally, the Olympic Movement actively promotes global sport through initiatives such as Olympic education programs, instilling moral dimensions, cultural values, and essential life [...] Read more.

This paper explores the diverse impact of the Olympic Movement on society, emphasizing core values like ‘excellence’, ‘friendship’, and ‘respect’. Traditionally, the Olympic Movement actively promotes global sport through initiatives such as Olympic education programs, instilling moral dimensions, cultural values, and essential life skills. Recent Olympic Games are scrutinized for their organizers’ focus on safety, pandemic management, environmental sustainability, and gender equality. This paper addresses crucial policy options, spanning human rights, social inclusion through sport, and the pervasive issue of inactivity affecting public health. Noteworthy successes in leveraging sports for refugees and combating substance use disorders are discussed, alongside joint efforts by the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee, to combat inactivity and promote health through sports. Exploration of gender equality in the Olympic Movement recognizes challenges and suggests actions, including increasing female participation and addressing sexual harassment. The intersection of sports, climate change, and environmental responsibility is examined, with a focus on the ambitious ‘climate-positive’ goals of the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, since most of the IOC actions are rather symbolic and not substantial, many organizations are called upon to take active initiatives. Actionable recommendations urge countries to prioritize physical activity policies, organize exercise programs, and collaborate across sectors for health and environmental sustainability. The Olympic Games should focus on promoting mass sports participation, fostering positive attitudes, enhancing public health through sports, education, peace, and societal values, advocating for a holistic approach that champions ethical values, and promoting Olympic education to build a better world through sports. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Contested Terrain of Sport: Sociological, Political and Policy Perspectives)

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