Culture and Values in the 21st Century (Chapter III)

1
Culture and Values in the 21st Century (Chapter
III)

• Related to Sport and Physical Activity

2
Questions Define Culture

• 1. What are some ways that culture influences
  sport/fitness/physical activity?
• 2. How does culture influence the type of
  physical activity you have participated in?
• 3. What guides your sport/exercise related
  behavior?

3
What is Culture?

• Used to define race, ethnicity, nationality
• Culture traditions forms of social
  interaction accepted by particular communities at
  given times
• Globalization as universal language
• Each culture own attitudes, beliefs, values
  biases ? stereotypes
• Individualism vs collectivism

4
Values and Attitudes (p. 35)

• Differences based on
• - time of socialization
• - materialistic vs post-materialistic values
• Today we have value pluralism post-industrialist
  society has decreasing achievement ethics,
  increased interest in leisure activities

5
What are values? (P. 36)

• Values are socially shared ideas about what is
  good, right, and desirable. Individuals within
  society evaluate the behavior of other people,
  objects within society, and ideals held by
  people.
• Questionnaire rank your own values --gt fill out
  Rokeachs Value Survey

6
Values in American Society (P. 36)

• Core Values
• - achievement
• - hard work
• - material comfort
• - equality
• - freedom
• - democracy
• - patriotism

• Values in Sport
• - achievement
• - hard work
• - success
• - competition
• - recognition
• - progress
• - patriotism

7
Problems with Values/American Dream

• Negative values in regard to sport/fitness
• - overemphasis on competition
• - control
• - eating disorders
• values may perpetuate stereotypes
• - biases
• - overgeneralization
• - powerful force in treatment of others

8
Issue 1 Changing Values (P.38ff)

• Changes in society lt--gt changes in movement
  culture
• fitness movement part of highly industrialized
  societies
• fitness movement is rooted in context of specific
  cultural codes and meaning

9
Changing Values and Modernity

• Secularization
• body as heaven
• Focus on happiness
• Concern for health
• Increasing automation and technological
  advancement ? decrease in body labor

• Inactive life style
• Exercise for health promotion and illness
  prevention
• Greater differentiation new sports/pa sports
  for all
• New body ideals body for representation
• (pp. 39-40)

10
Theories about Modernity (p. 40f)

• Critical theory strengths and weaknesses of
  fitness movement ? paradoxes
• Postmodern theory social and cultural pluralism,
  blacks and females have a vote now as well
  juxtaposed situations body is not needed for
  productivity, but increased focus on the body
• Systems theory values changes - gt consequences
  for the system/society greater individualism
• ?meta-scientific, inter-disciplinary, pluralistic
  aproach

11
Issue 2 Fitness The Global Sport for All? (PP.
46-53)

• Changes in movement culture
• Latest fitness movement 1970s in USA
• Who is participating? -gt dependent on income,
  gender, race/ ethnicity, age
• Fitness Sport for all?

12
Historical Roots of Fitness Phenomenon (PP. 47-49)

• fit for fighting (military)
• fit for fun and enjoyment (Turnen) ----- Jahn
  fresh, pious, happy, free
• fit for production
• fit for national security
• fit for health and beauty

13
Conditions of the (Post-)Modern

• to be modern is to live a life of paradox and
  contradictions (Berman, 1988)
• modern technology and social organizations exert
  over humankind
• increased materialism
• search for happiness and meaning
• turning inward -gt focus on the body

14
Value Changes and Rise of Fitness Movement

• Value shift --gt freedom, comfort, excitement
• secularization
• immediate gratification, happiness
• concern for health
• greater differentiation
• lifestyle changes

15
Conclusion

• In a time where physical labor becomes less
  important, the body becomes elevated a truly
  paradoxical phenomenon, a sign of our
  (post-)modern times.
• Issue 3 The Paradox of Top-level Sports ?
  top-level sport is paradox (P. 59 last paragraph)