Chapter 9: Social Class, Issues & Controversies

Class relations and cultural ideology

- Sports are valuable cultural vehicles for developing ideological "outposts" in the minds of people around the world - This is why transnational corporations spend billions of dollars to be primary providers of popular pleasure and entertainment

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 US 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

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 minorities remain in many sports, especially in off-the-field positions of power in sport organizations.

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.

Economic and career opportunities in sports

-career opportunities are limited and, for athletes, they are short term -opportunities for women are growing but remain limited -opportunities for African Americans and other ethnic minorities are growing but remain limited

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

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 (eg., 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)

Class and gender relations

- Girls and women in low-income households often face the greatest constraints to sport participation - Boys and girls from higher income families seldom 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

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.

Belief in meritocracy

A form of social organization in which rewards go to people who earn them due to their abilities and qualifications

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.

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.

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)

The American Dream

a hopeful vision of boundless opportunities for individuals to succeed economically and live a happy life based on consumption

Social class

category of people who share a similar socioeconomic position in society

Class ideology

interrelated ideas and beliefs that people use to understand economic inequalities, identify their class position, and 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 social 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 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

Class relations

the ways that social class is incorporated into the organization of our everyday lives - Social class differences affect most parts of people's lives in the U.S. - Why do Americans accept the reality of class and class relations without debating it?