Unit 12 Assignment 4 Culture and Barriers
Highest grade: PASS
Grade achieved: PASS
In this assignment, I explained three cultural influences on sports participation (SOCIAL ECONOMIC GROUPS, GENDER, ETHNICITY, AGE) in the form of a poster - using references and relevant examples.
This assignmen...
CULTURAL BARRIERS TO SPORTS
PARTICIPATION
Cultural Barriers refer to specific social and cultural practices, beliefs and traditions within a community
or society and how these impact on self-perceptions and the perceptions of others.
SOCIAL ECONOMIC GROUPS
Social class largely defines the types of sports individuals choose participate in, their level of involvement, and affects their
chances of success in the sport. Often sports are a reflection of social class. This divide has been clearly shown throughout
history and is made clear by the fact that certain types of sports were only played by those who attended private schools;
e.g. hockey and rugby; and that throughout certain time periods only those who were part of the upper class and therefore
had leisure time, participated in sports.
Class dictates a lot of our life opportunities and lifestyle choices, which includes sports participation. Members of the higher
classes often are involved in team sports with more available resources and better facilities, aiding in their ability to
progress to the next level. Class can be barrier to sports participation for members of the lower classes as they often do not
have those resources, hindering their ability to progress and move to the next level. Class can also prevent people from
participating in sport as those from the lower class often have reduced leisure time due to long working hours which means
that they have time mean less time to participate in physical activities. Being in the lower class can also prevent people
from being able to access sport in the first place as participation in sport; specifically, in clubs; requires a fee, and many
don’t have the disposable income to spend on this. Some sporting facilities also require expensive membership fees to join
therefore exclude those who can’t afford them. Ultimately, social economic groups can produce a barrier to sport as income
has a massive impact on an individual’s ability to access recreational or sporting facilities.
GENDER
One of the main cultural barriers in sport is gender; more specifically the gender imbalance between men and women. One
of the biggest barriers associated with levels of activity is the perception that physical activity is unfeminine. This is made
apparent by the gender imbalance which is evident across the higher levels of the sporting industry, the media portrayal of
sporting activity and the formative experiences of many women.
For example: a report by WSFF found the following statistics:
· 29% of sporting boards and committees in the UK were made up of women
· Newspaper coverage of women’s sport accounted for 5% of total sporting coverage during 2006;
· 23% of women reported that early experiences of physical education put them off sport in later life
· 26% of women were never encouraged to play sport
· One in five men considered sporty women as unfeminine.
(WSFF.2019)
These statistics suggest the existence of cultural discourses which encourage the perception that sport is not for women
and women are not for sport. Therefore, it is argued that these discourses are responsible for having marginalised women’s
sport and have instilled negative attitudes towards sport in a significant proportion of the female population during their
influential years and therefore created a massive barrier to participation. In addition to the this, women have to deal with
traditional cultural stereotypes that have been ingrained in society for the majority of history, these suggest that women
should be a ‘home-maker’ and ‘care-giver’. Due to this, women may feel that they shouldn’t participate in sport as it is
taking them away from their ‘duty’ at home. They may also choose to not participate in sport for the fear of how they
perceived by others. Once again this creates a barrier due to the constant stereotyping of women by society.
A barrier has been created to women’s sport because at all levels of sport, and in all roles women, are under-represented in
the sports sector. Working in a sector where they are in the minority can give women the sense that they don’t belong in the
world of sport which could result in decreased participation.
In addition to this, there is an imbalance in the media coverage of women’s sport as the focus is almost entirely men’s
sports. This is significant because the media plays a central role in informing our knowledge, opinions and attitudes about
women and sport, which, in turn, influence participation levels. In general, a lack of coverage of women’s sports leads to a
lack of female role models to inspire sportswomen and create a barrier to the next generation of sportswomen.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lucysophia12. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £3.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
