ch. 9 Social Class
Careers for women
Careers as pro athletes for women have existed primarily in tennis and golf. Other pro sports have been formed recently, but they generate little revenue, and careers are insecure. Other job opportunities in sports remain limited by traditional gender ideology. The characteristics associated with being a woman are not seen as fitting many job qualifications in sports.
Class relations in action
Cuts in publicly funded sport programs disproportionately affect people with few economic resources (e.g., school programs). Tickets to pro sports events are too expensive for many people today. Ticket prices increase about 30% after new facilities are constructed (even when regressive sales taxes provide the capital).
Research suggests that playing sports may be related to success when it
Enables people to complete degrees and gain knowledge about the world apart from sports Increases support from others who foster overall development, not just sport development Provides opportunities to develop social networks reaching beyond sports Provides material resources and guidance on how to use them Expands experiences, identities, and abilities unrelated to sports Does not lead to serious injuries
Class and gender relations
Girls and women in low-income householdsoften face the greatest constraints to sport participation. Boys and girls from higher-income familiesseldom face constraints that interfere with participation in after-school and summer programs, camps, and leagues. Gender-related factors have a greater impact on sport participation patterns in lower-income households.
Class and gender in men's lives
Ideas about sports and masculinity vary by social class. Boys from lower-income backgrounds often see sport participation as a means of obtaining "respect." Early, exclusive commitments to a single sport are more likely among boys from lower-income backgrounds—this is a reflection of life chances.
Sports are organized so that
Members of ethnic minorities are more likely than whites to be defined as unqualified for off-the-field jobs. Job candidates most likely to be hired have values and orientations matching those of people in positions of power. The values and orientations of ethnic minorities are seldom part of the culture of sport organizations.
Global inequalities and sports
People in the U.S. have (on average) $60/day to live; in 39 less-developed nations, people have 58¢ per day to live. Nearly 50% of the world's population live on less than $2/day. Example: In 2008 Tiger Woods made as much money as 200,000 people in less- developed nations used to live for the entire year. Sports and sport participation is a luxury for over half the world's population.
Major challenges faced by retiring athletes
Reconstructing identities in terms of activities, abilities, and relationships unrelated to sport participation Renegotiating relationships with others so as to gain feedback and support for new identities
Class ideologyin the US is based on
The American Dream A hopeful vision of boundless opportunities for individuals to succeed economically and live a happy live based on consumption Belief in meritocracy A form of social organization in which rewards go to people who earn them due to their abilities and qualifications
Athletic scholarships and occupational success
The perceived number of full athletic scholarships is greatly exaggerated. One third of 1% of all students in NCAA universities receive full athletic scholarships. Athletic scholarships are awarded year to year, but athletes are obligated for 4 years. Class and race/ethnicity is related to who receives scholarships in what sports Many students with athletic scholarships would attend college without such aid
Careers for ethnic minorities
There are 28 times more African Americans working as doctors, lawyers, and college teachers than there are black athletes in top- level professional sports. Ethnic minority athletes have faced entry and retention barriers in the past. Employment barriers for ethnic minoritiesremain in many sports, especially in off-the- field positions of power in sport organizations.
Global inequities:The Olympics & Paralympics
Wealthy nations are the medal winners at the Olympic Games. Going into the 2012 Games in London 80 of the 204 participating nations had never won an Olympic medal 51 had won fewer than five medals in Olympic history Many nations had not won a medal for at least 40 years The United States, with its wealth and population size, had won 2,549 medals—many more than any other nation. Training for elite competition is now so expensive that about 80-percent of the global population has no realistic chance of winning a medal—unless they find a way to train in the U.S. or another wealthy nation. This pattern is even more pronounced in the Paralympics
Major beliefs that constitute class ideology in the United States
Belief in the American Dream + Belief that the US is a meritocracy = Class ideology
Economic and career opportunities in sports
Career opportunities are limited and, for athletes, they are short term. The odds of making big money as an athlete are so low that nobody should bet much on them, and bets should be hedged with other career goals! Opportunities for women are growing but remain limited. Opportunities for African Americans and other ethnic minorities are growing but remain limited.
Occupational careers among former athletes
Former athletes experience career benefits from playing sports if: They learn interpersonal skills that carry over to off-the-field jobs. People with power and influence define them as good job prospects because they were athletes. They can use their sport reputations to create the publicity needed to achieve career success. They are well connected with others who can provide opportunities or advocate their interests
Changes that have increased thelikelihood of athletes' career success
Increased salaries for many professional athletes (after the 1970s) Increased visibility and name recognition that has value as a form of social capital Increased awareness among athletes that resources must be managed carefully to maximize opportunities in the future
Social class, gender, and race/ethnicity
Research shows that for some low-income, minority men, boxing is an alternative to the violence of the streets. Boxing is a refuge from the violence, hopelessness, and indignity created by racism and poverty. Many of these men know they would not be boxers if other opportunities existed for them.
Social class and sport participation
Social class and class relations influence who plays sports, who watches sports, who consumes information about sports, and the information that is available. Generally, the higher the social class, the greater the involvement and influence. Sport participation occurs in the context of class-related lifestyles.
Public money and private profits
Sport venues are sites for transferring public money to wealthy individuals and private corporations by Using sales taxes to build facilities controlled by team owners and private corporations Funding construction with tax-exempt bonds purchased by wealthy investors Discounting property tax rates for sport facilities and development around stadiums Granting tax deductions for tickets purchased for business purposes (nearly all luxury box and club seats are purchased this way)
"Power 100" in U.S. sports
Sports Illustrated's "50 Most Powerful People in Sports" ranks people on their power in and over sports. Rankings change each year, but they consistently show that Power is based in organizations and rests in the hands of the white men who control them. Athletes and coaches have little or no power to control the organization of sports.
Economic inequality, class relations, and sports
The meaning, organization, and purpose of sports are heavily influenced by money and economic power. Class relations in the U.S. are based on an ideology in which economic success is equated with individual ability, worth, and character. Competitive power and performance sports reaffirm this ideology.
Class relations and power in sports
The most powerful people in sports are white men who control the resources that sponsor sports and represent sports in the media. The most visible sports around the world revolve around the meanings and orientations given priority by people with wealth and power.
exclusive sport clubs are widely perceived as a legitimate privilege of people in the upper class
This is an outcome of the belief in meritocracy
between 1991 and 2012 ticket prices to the major men'sspectator sports increased nearly three times more than the rate of inflation.
Ticket prices are driven up by corporations that can deduct from their income taxes a portion of ticket costs. Also, wealthy people are willing to pay high prices so they can separate themselves from those with lower status. Unless you are relatively wealthy, you sit close to the rafters
If you want to know who's in the lowest social class, just look at who is boxing
U.S. boxers since the 1880s have been Irish, Italian, Jews, African Americans, and Latinos—as each ethnic group migrated to the U.S. and was at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.
Does a stadium and team create jobs?
Yes, but at a price that far exceeds other forms of job creation A large department store or a university provides many more jobs than a pro sport team and stadium Most sport stadium jobs are seasonal and low paid Jobs from other areas may move to new businesses around the stadium, but the net increase in jobs is small
Social class
categories of people who share an economic position in society based on a combination of their Income Wealth Education Occupation Social connections
Class ideology
interrelated ideas and beliefs that people use to → Understand economic inequalities → Identify their class position → Evaluate the impact of economic inequalities on the organization of social worlds
Social stratification
structured forms of economic inequalities that are part of the organization of everyday life. - These inequalities influence life chances. Life chances are similar odds for achieving economic success and power in society. Life chances vary from one social class to another in the social stratification system
Class relations
structured forms of economic inequalities that are part of the organization of everyday life. - These inequalities influence life chances. Life chances are similar odds for achieving economic success and power in society. Life chances vary from one social class to another in the social stratification system.
