Bodies, Sportscultures and Societies: A Critical Review of Some Theories in the Sociology of the Body

Abstract

Several issues raised by literature in the sociology of the body are discussed. The need for and the significance of a sociological study of the body for the sociology of sport is stated. A critical review of competing theories in the sociology of the body is undertaken. Especial attention is given to the work of Frank. His typology draws on the work of Giddens and both are viewed as deficient in certain respects. In contrast, the work of Elias is seen as an example of good practice for the emerging sociology of sport and the body. Several 'sporting bodies' (biomedical, disciplined, commodified and symbolic) are identified and reference is made to existing literature within the sociology of sport.Traditionally, sociology has neglected the study of the body. So-called 'agency' or 'structural' theories have been equally guilty. The tendency has been to treat the individual as either a disembodied decision making agent or as a cultural dupe reflecting external structures. One consequence of this neglect of the body has been that much of our sociological heritage has reinforced rather then overcome the dichotomies that characterize the social sciences. These dichotomies include the mind/body, nature/nurture, individual/society, sex/gender and 'race'/ / ethnicity debatesl.Given that sport participation and spectating involves 'embodied acts', it is rather strange that within the sociology of sport a similar neglect is evident. Yet within the literature on the sociology of sport it is precisely the dichotomies referred to above which repeatedly form the focus of debate. Some work has focused on sport and the body. The early work of Heinemann (1980) and the more recent work of Harvey (1986), Rintala (1989), Harvey and Sparkes (1991), Theberge (1991) and Gruneau (in press) spring to mind. While their perspectives differ, they share the conviction of the need for the sociology of sport to examine 'the body' and the potential this entails.What value has a sociological study of the body to the sociology of sport? The sub-discipline is diminished to the extent that it fails to recognize the importance of embodiment in processes of social identity construction and reproduction. Central in this regard are issues of power, culture and distinction. Let me spell this out. The sociology of sport is in an unique position to emphasize to the parent discipline the importance of the body in understanding human agency, the production of cultural and economic capital and the attainment and maintenance of social status (Shilling, 1991). By giving greater emphasis to this, not only would Int Rev for soc of Sport 28/1 (1993)

Shooting for Lithuania: Migration, National Identity and Men’s Basketball in the East of England

“…These levels of social acceptability are formed in the nondiscursive aspects of culture that bind people into groups, including unspoken habits and patterns of behavior internalized as the habitus (Elias, 1982;Elias & Schröter, 1991). The habitus represents the manner in which experiences become familiar, including the mundane actions of everyday life, so that socially learned acceptable behaviors meld with the emotions to produce the 'durable and generalized dispositions' that become a person's 'second nature' (Elias, 1978;Maguire, 1991Maguire, , 1993. Habitus therefore relates both to identity, to one's knowledge of self, and to personal choices and actions.…”

Process-Sociological Notes on Sport, Gender Relations and Violence Control

“…From a figurational standpoint, of equal concern are the ways in which, as a result of habituation over time in the context of largely unplanned long-term social processes, ways of thinking, feeling and behaving become embodied at the level of habitus. One could say in a sense that people's bodies are the &dquo;sites of social memories&dquo; (Maguire 1993a). Indeed, as Stephen Mennell has rightly pointed out &dquo;the various layers of habitus simultaneously present in people today may be of many different vintages&dquo; (Mennell 1994, 178).…”

“…A key feature of the sports process (Dunning et al 1993) consists in the fact that it is used by different class, gender, ethnic, national and &dquo;sub-national&dquo; groups -those who are more established, those who are in the ascendant, those who are declining, and those who remain outsiders -to represent, maintain and/or challenge identities and their positions in status orders at various levels. In the United Kingdom, sports have functioned in this way at least since they emerged as national practices in the 1880's (Maguire 1993a). In that context, different sport forms came to symbolize communal, sub-national and national identities, centrally involving the use of national and sub-national flags, anthems and emblems (Hobsbawm 1983, 11;Smith 1991, 77).…”

“…with the sexual division of labour and levels of economic development and therefore of the social construction of bodies (Durkheim 1964;Shorter 1982;Maguire 1993a), males have tended in all known societies up to now to be bigger, physically stronger and faster than females and therefore better equipped as fighters;…”

Older adults’ lifelong embodied experiences of leisure time aquatic physical activity in the United Kingdom

“…Elias and Dunning (1986) outline how a proportion of the emotions are innate and embodied, being unlearned and inherited instincts, while a significant proportion of the emotions, and the way in which they are expressed, are learned. The habitus therefore represents the durable and generalised dispositions that become a person's second nature and it also forms the point at which emotional and behavioural response is configured (Maguire, 1991(Maguire, , 1993. This point is referred to as 'the hinge;' the link between unlearned and learned processes, or the first and second nature of the individual (Jarvie & Maguire, 1994, p. 142).…”