Sport Questions

1.How do both readings describe and analyse “lifestyle sports” as significant to youth culture? Why would some young people choose to participate in these kinds of sports versus traditional, competitive sports?

The readings demonstrate how young cultural depictions from across the world distributed through several modern media platforms help establish and sustain lifestyle sports. Young people are drawn to lifestyle sports because they depict sociality, joyous inventiveness, speed, and thrill, as well as their urban sensuality and subcultural distinctiveness from mainstream sports (Baker et al., 2016). The arguments of social and cultural openness uphold this difference.

2.How do you see the readings as reflecting either the “structural-functionalist” or “social conflict” approaches to studying the sociology of sport?

The readings are more relevant to social conflict other than structural functionalist approach because athletics is where we witness societal power struggles. It has been observed that gender conflict inhibits social engagement and uses reciprocal social influence to further contradictory interests.

3.According to Pavlidis, how do women push their bodies and play with their identities in roller derby? In what ways are they affirming and challenging gender norms, and playing with other aspects of identity? How do you see young men do this in other sports?

Women are stretching the confines of gender as a new generation of sports enthusiasts navigates the intersection of delight, pain, and power dynamics. For instance, pushing limits has provided a socio-cultural study of roller derby's emergence and rebirth as a brand-new, globally-accessible women's sport and a regular venue for creative leisure (Rannikko et al., 2016). Furthermore, roller derby has developed into a gendered arena for self-transformation, community, and embodied competition where both men and women are encouraged to accept pain, feel emotions profoundly, and push past boundaries.

4.Lifestyle sports are often positioned as “open” and “alternative” to the mainstream. How is this not always the case? How can lifestyle sports be incorporated and regulated? And, how can “mainstream” sports be subcultural or alternative?

One of the newest trends in digital media is lifestyle sports, which are leading the way. As a result, they produce high interaction as a crucial component of the ingestion of sports media. But in lifestyle sports, as opposed to other sports where public interest is primarily driven by competition, spectators are typically drawn in by the sight of the action. Lifestyle sports have so typically received poor representation on major broadcasts emphasizing on hegemonic masculinity (Baker et al., 2016). Either they were perceived as being too specialized or too radical. The discussion of how well the integrated principles correspond with the residing reality is also answered differently by different actor roles, even though lifestyle sports have the potential to be open and specialists in their sports groups are likely to learn considerate attitudes toward diversity. As is typical in every social setting, the restricted activities of lifestyle sports are not always apparent to those who are not barred (Rannikko et al., 2016). As a result, theoretical communication approaches may be credited with adopting lifestyle sports by presenting hybrid actions of attitudes and conceiving discourse as a potent force for coordinating participation in lifestyle sports.

5.Is (or was) sport important to you as a young person? Why? What about the sport is or was most important to you and how was it part of your youth culture?

Sport is important to me as a young person in the additional values gotten from the endeavor. Every human has to participate in sports to stay physically and physically strong. It is very significant at every stage of life. Additionally, it enhances people's personalities. In youth culture, sports boost and improve our confidence levels. We may be more active and healthier if we play sports regularly.

References

Baker, S., Robards, B., & Buttigieg, B. (2016). Youth cultures and subcultures. Routledge.

Rannikko, A., Harinen, P., Torvinen, P., & Liikanen, V. (2016). The social bordering of lifestyle sports: inclusive principles, exclusive reality. Journal Of Youth Studies, 19(8), 1093-1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1145640