Introducing the core concepts, issues and debates in the study of gender and sport, this is an accessible, engaging and thought-provoking textbook for anyone studying or interested in sport. It highlights the complexity of the gendered sporting world. Exploring inequalities in society that are reflected in sporting spaces and practices, and offering practical guidance on how to develop study skills and critical thinking, this textbook empowers readers to view the world in a different way. The book explores the social and political aspects of gender, sport and society, as well as their intersection with race/ethnicity, dis/ability, and sexualities. Introducing the basics of gender theory as applied to sport, and placing equity, diversity and inclusion at the heart of the discussion, the book explores key themes, current issues and hot topics, such as women in esports, mental health, and parenthood. The book also looks at how gender and gender stereotypes play out in the world of sport business and management. The reader is asked to co-create the textbook’s narrative by engaging with several pedagogical features, such as ‘stop and think’ and seminar activities, requesting the reader to be an active and critical participant. The compact and considered chapters will help to break down the complexity involved in this subject area. The final chapter is dedicated to study skills and practical learning advice, acting as a study guide to complement the discipline-rich chapters that come before it. This textbook is written from practitioner-educator experience ensuring the content is degree-specific, critically positioned, and most importantly, inclusive and accessible. Full of useful features in every chapter, from subject ‘insights’ to guides on further reading, media links and other sources, as well as example assignment questions, this is an indispensable textbook for all students of gender and sport, women and sport, the sporting body, sport and society, social issues in sport, inclusion in sport, and sport development, and fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in sport, gender studies or sociology more broadly.

Drawing on Chinese sources hitherto unavailable in the West including official documents and interviews with top athletes, the author explores the rise of Chinese super sportswomen and their relationship with politics, culture and society before and during the Cultural Revolution and through China's transition to a market economy.

Praise for the First Edition: "Barrie Houlihan's astonishingly ambitious and skilfully assembled collection examines the relations between sport, social policy and the social context that underlies the two. Organized around such themes as exclusion, commercialism and international comparisons, the book allows the reader to understand not only the centrality of sport to contemporary society, but the often perplexing policies that contrive to encourage or deny participation, promote or deter public sector involvement and support or undermine physical education. Importantly, Houlihan never prioritises the general over the particular, always striving to find detail amid the bigger picture." - Ellis Cashmore, Professor of Culture, Media and Sport, Staffordshire University "The most comprehensive study of contemporary issues in sport by leading international scholars. Houlihan's book is the answer to sports students' prayers, full of information, statistics, tables and figures, extensive guides to further reading and, most important of all, challenging ideas. A weighty vademecum for the early 21st century." - Jim Riordan Honorary Professor of Sports Studies, University of Stirling, Professor Emeritus at University of Surrey, and President of the European Sports History Association Fully updated and revised, the Second Edition of Barrie Houlihan's ground-breaking book provides students and lecturers with a one-stop text that is comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, accessible, international and engaging. Sport and Society allows students to: Approach the study of sport from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Understand the importance of social structure, power and inequality in analyzing the nature and significance of sport in society. Address the rapid commercialization and regulation of sport. Engage in comparative analysis to understand problems clearly and produce sound solutions. Expand their knowledge through chapter summaries, guides to further reading and extensive bibliographies. This Second Edition contains five brand new chapters, which reflect recent concerns with: young athletes and human rights, sport and the city, sport and violence, sport and health, and sport and Islam. A superb teaching text, it will be relished by lecturers seeking an authoritative introduction to sport and society and students who want a relevant, enriching text for their learning and research needs.

This exciting new undergraduate textbook introduces the reader to the broad and complex relationship between sport, culture and society, and critically examines the key assumptions that we hold with regard to the nature of sport.

Sport has come to have an increasingly large impact on daily life and commerce across the globe. From mega-events, such as the World Cup or Super Bowl, to the early socialization of children into sport, the study of sport and society has developed as a distinctly wide-ranging scholarly enterprise, centered in sociology, sport studies, and cultural, media, and gender studies. In The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society, Lawrence Wenner brings together contributions from the world's leading scholars on sport and society to create the premier comprehensive and interdisciplinary reference for scholars and students looking to understand key areas of inquiry about the role and impacts of sport in contemporary culture. The Handbook offers penetrating analyses of the key ways that today's outsized sport is integrated into the lives of both athletes and fans and increasingly shapes the social fabric and cultural logics across the world. Featuring 85 leading international scholars, the volume is organized into six sections: society and values, enterprise and capital, participation and cultures, lifespan and careers, inclusion and exclusion, and spectator engagement and media. To aid comprehension and comparison, each chapter opens with a brief introduction to the area of research and features a common organizational scheme with three main sections of key issues, approaches, and debates to guide scholars and students to what is currently most important in the study of each area. Written at an accessible level and offering rich resources to further study each topic, this handbook is an essential resource for scholars and students as well as general readers who wish to understand the growing social, cultural, political, and economic influences of sport in society and our everyday lives.

This state-of-the-art Research Handbook provides a challenging and critical examination of the complex issues surrounding sports in contemporary societies. Featuring contributions from world-leading scholars, it focuses upon the impact of their research, together with significant social issues and controversies in sport.

Using a topics-based approach organized around provocative questions about the interaction of sports, culture and society, Sports in Society presents an accessible introduction to research and theory in the sociology of sport. This new edition continues the legacy of the previous editions while introducing new material and examples that bring theory to life. Current debates in sports, such as how youth participation can be increased or sport funding allocated, have been integrated throughout the text to provide a holistic view of society. An Online Learning Centre accompanies this book offering a range of lecturer support materials as well as resources and tests for students.

In this fully updated and revised new edition of his landmark study of violence in and around contemporary sport, Kevin Young offers a comprehensive sociological analysis of an issue of central importance within sport studies. The book explores organised and spontaneous violence, both on the field and off, and calls for a much broader definition of ‘sports-related violence’, to include issues as diverse as criminal behaviour by players, abuse within sport and exploitative labour practices. Offering a sophisticated theoretical framework for understanding violence in a sporting context and including new case studies and updated empirical data – from professional soccer in Europe to ice hockey in North America – the book establishes a benchmark for the study of violence within sport and wider society. Through close examination of often contradictory trends, from anti-violence initiatives in professional sports leagues to the role of the media in encouraging hyper-aggression, the book throws new light on our understanding of the socially-embedded character of sport and its fundamental ties to history, culture, politics, social class, gender and the law. This new edition also recognises burgeoning new literatures, such as research examining concussion and the link between sport and mental illness and includes student-friendly pedagogical aids, such as critical thinking questions at the end of each chapter. Sport, Violence and Society is a vital read for anyone studying or working in the areas of the Sociology of Sport, Sport Psychology, Ethics and Philosophy of Sport, Sport and Politics, Sports History, and Sport and the Media.

What impact does sport have on the lives of ordinary people? How does sport help to perpetuate inequalities in society? What can social theory tell us about the role of sport in society? At their origin competitive sports were institutionalized in Western cultures for the privilege of white, heterosexual men. Over time sport has become more open to categories of people traditionally marginalized in society: women; those from lower social classes; gay men; people of colour; and those differently abled. However, focusing solely on increased social inclusion in sport masks significant problems with both the culture and structure of sport. This critical textbook examines social exclusion in sport and analyzes the socio-negative attributes associated with competitive, institutionalized sport, for all who play. Focusing on sport at non-elite levels, this book explores the lives of everyday citizens who play and examines how inequality and social deviance are structured into the social and sporting system. Each chapter uses a key social theory to address a particular social problem in sport, such as learned obedience to authority; the acceptance of pain and injury; the adoption of hyper-masculine, homophobic and sexist attitudes; the teaching of in-group/out-group; and the use of sport as a false mechanism for social mobility. By concentrating on real sport, and through the use of startling vignettes illustrating the experiences of real people, this textbook develops the critical senses, social conscience and theoretical understanding of all students of sport and anybody for whom sport is part of their everyday life.

During the last four decades women’s and gender history have become vibrant fields including studies of attitudes regarding the limited physical and other abilities of females as well as studies of the accomplishments of notable female athletes. We have become increasingly aware that women have made contributions to physical education, dance and sport that go far beyond being teachers, athletes and coaches. They have created and implemented an astonishing variety of programs intended to serve the needs of large numbers of children and youth sometimes organizing student health services, as well as chairing departments of physical education. They have worked as directors of sport, physical education and dance, running playgrounds and recreational facilities and have created and/or served as important officers of a variety of sporting organizations. This book explores the contributions and achievements of women in a variety of historical and geographical contexts which, not surprisingly opens opportunities for additions, revisions and counter-narratives to accepted histories of physical education and sport science. It seeks to broaden our understandings about the backgrounds, motivations and achievements of dedicated women working to improve health and bodily practices in a variety of different arenas and for often different purposes. This book was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.