KIN 201 Week 2 Notes: History and Sociology of Physical Activity (Ch. 4 & 5)

HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• The history of physical activity teaches us about changes as well as stability in the past, which helps us understand the past as well as the present and make reasonable decisions for the future.

• Reflective questions: What are some of your favorite moments in sporting history?

GOALS OF HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• Identify and describe patterns of change and stability in physical activity in particular societies or cultures during specific periods.

• Analyze such patterns to explain why certain things occurred.

WHY DO WE CARE?

• To learn about changes and trends.

• To understand stability.

• To gain insight into the present situation.

• To gain a roadmap for what the future may look like.

WHAT DO HISTORIANS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DO?

• Academic roles: College/university faculty members who teach courses such as KIN 335: Historical and Cultural Foundations of Sport in America.

• Research and service.

• Other roles: Librarians, journalists, consultants to publishing companies, library archivists, museum curators.

HOW DO YOU RESEARCH THE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

• Start with a theoretical lens: Modernization theory vs. Human agency vs. Postmodernism.

• Find sources of evidence: Primary vs. Secondary.

• Critique sources: Authenticity vs. Credibility.

• Examine, analyze, and synthesize the evidence using an objective framework.

HISTORY RESEARCH METHODS: LENSES TO GUIDE RESEARCH

• Modernization theory: As people evolved toward rationality and education, sport changed accordingly.

• Human agency: Humans innately seek to improve sport, acknowledging intersectional experiences.

• Postmodernism: Multiple, diverse histories; no single recounting fully describes history.

TYPES OF SOURCES

• Primary sources: Items produced in the time period being studied.

• Secondary sources: Items produced about the time period being studied.

• Example exercise: Determine source type for various baseball-related items (e.g., newspaper column, glove, interviews, diaries, books).

  • 1. Newspaper sports column from May 6, 1975 → Primary.

  • 2. Baseball glove of an athlete from the 1975 World Series → Primary.

  • 3. Interview with a person born in 1987 whose dad talked about baseball → Secondary.

  • 4. Interview with a person born in 1955 who is a self-identified baseball fan → Secondary.

  • 5. Personal diary of an athlete on the 1975 World Series team → Primary.

  • 6. A book about the 1975 season published in 1998 → Secondary.

HOW DO WE MAKE SURE SOURCES ARE LEGITIMATE?

• Critiquing the sources: Authenticity (genuine vs. not) and credibility (context, perspective, editing).

• Know the who, when, and how to validate; primary sources can confirm secondary sources and vice versa.

OVERVIEW OF KNOWLEDGE IN HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN AMERICA

• Four major time periods with focus areas:

  • Pre-1840: Native American Sport and European Settlement.

  • 1840–1900: Industrialization and Westward Expansion.

  • 1900–1950: Consumerism, Immigration, and Democratization.

  • 1950–present: Electronic Communication and Globalization.

• For each period, focus areas include: Participation in physical activity, physical activity professions, scholarly knowledge about physical activity.

PRE-1840: NATIVE AMERICAN SPORT AND EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

• Historical scarcity of documentation from Native communities; limited resources to document/save.

• Participation: Native Americans engaged in a variety of physical activities; utilitarian and spiritual significance.

• Native American sport and games changed with European contact.

• Influences on sport included nationality and religion.

• Professions and scholarship: Scant; people focused on survival.

1840–1900: INDUSTRIALIZATION AND WESTWARD EXPANSION

• Concept: Integration of body, mind, and spirit.

• Religion shaped westward expansion and the desire for physical fitness via “Muscular Christianity.”

• Participation: Gender differences observed:

  • Men: Vigorous exercise and sport to become leaders.

  • Women: Moderate exercise to avoid health risks.

• International influences:

  • Gymnastics from German immigrants.

  • Golf and track and field from Scottish immigrants.

• Development of professional, collegiate, and amateur sports.

• Modern Olympics.

• Professional baseball and football emerging; collegiate sport expanding.

• Morrill Act of 1862.

• Note: Highland Games referenced as part of the period.

1840–1900: INDUSTRIALIZATION AND WESTWARD EXPANSION – PROFESSIONS & SCHOLARSHIP

• Early practitioners before the 1880s: Physicians, athletes, journalists, educators, ministers, health reform advocates, and business entrepreneurs.

• Scholarship: Beginning of physical education; late 19th-century teacher training programs.

• Science-based investigations and curricula developed.

• 19th-century scientific discoveries laid the foundation for physical activity science.

• Professional programs became common; focus on teaching activities and instilling positive social values through play and sport.

1900–1950: CONSUMERISM, IMMIGRATION, DEMOCRATIZATION

• Sport as Americans’ favorite activity in the first half of the 20th century; a nationalistic “Golden Age of Sport.”

• Sport at the center of school and college physical education curricula.

• Exercise received less attention, though interest rose during WWI and WWII for fitness.

• Sport used as a political tool.

• Ideological and racial examples: Jewish boxer Maxie Rosenbloom; African American Jesse Owens.

• Participation: Separate sporting competitions for men and women.

• Male competitive sport: NCAA, MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, PGA, Olympics.

• Female competitive sport: AIAW, Olympics, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

• Professions: Coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists; growth of degree programs in physical education; expansion of research and laboratory work.

• Scholarship: Documentation and reading of research increased.

1900–1950: CONSUMERISM, IMMIGRATION, DEMOCRATIZATION – ADDITIONAL CONTEXT

• The era saw a broad expansion of participation and organizational structures across male and female sport.

1950–PRESENT: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND GLOBALIZATION

• Enthusiasm for sport among participants and spectators exploded in the latter half of the 20th century across a wide array of sport and exercise activities.

• Electronic media expanded rapidly, amplifying reach and influence.

• Participation:

  • Title IX → gender equality progress in participation.

  • Health shift and increased outdoor recreation.

• Professions: Growth of kinesiology as a discipline; expansion in professions, associations, certifications, and curricula.

• Scholarship: Growth of scholarly subdisciplines within the field.

MOVIES AND POP CULTURE REFERENCES (PAGES 20–21)

• A long list of sport-related films referenced (e.g., Million Dollar Baby, Remember the Titans, Moneyball, Miracle, Invictus, Glory Road, etc.).

• These films illustrate how sport history is portrayed, celebrated, and sometimes mythologized in popular culture.

• Exercise caution about nationalist ideals, white-washing of race, and male-centric standards in sport representations.

SPORT ONCE UPON A TIME… COMPARED TO NOW (PAGES 21–22)

• Prompts: How would events like Remember the Titans or Miracle on Ice differ today? Is race still a factor? Is politics embedded in sport?

• Encourages critical reflection on how past sport history is interpreted and valued.

QUOTE AND PERSPECTIVE ON SPORT AND SOCIETY (PAGES 22–23)

• Quote by Dave Zirin: "Sport has often acted as a reflection of the national life… and at times a fetter or a taser, sending change into the body politic."

• Idea: Society shapes sport, but sport also shapes society; cyclical, reflective, and causational relationships.

SPORT AS A MICROCOSM OF SOCIETY (PAGES 24)

• Common characteristics between sport and society:

  • High degree of competitiveness; American emphasis on winners.

  • Emphasis on materialism.

  • Pervasiveness of racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, classism, etc.

• Sport is not a sanctuary; deviance exists in sport.

• Sport is a microcosm of society but also an agent of change.

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS STUFF? SOCIOLOGISTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PAGES 25–26)

• Roles in kinesiology:

  • Teaching: KIN 332: Sociocultural Aspects of Sport.

  • Research: Focus on sociocultural aspects of sport (e.g., athlete objectification) and anti-racism interventions.

  • Service and other research focuses.

• Data collection methods in sociology of sport:

  • Survey/questionnaires.

  • Interviewing (focus groups).

  • Thematic/content analysis.

  • Ethnography.

  • Societal analysis: Theory development from data.

  • Mixed methods: combination of quantitative and qualitative data.

RESEARCH: SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT (PAGES 27–29)

• Interactive exercise using images of two athletes; students describe each athlete with three statements (e.g., She is ).

• Purpose: Practice descriptive coding and understanding first impressions.

CODES (PAGES 32)

• A list of coding categories with examples:

  • Body shape/size, appearance, physicality, traits/abilities, negative traits, states/emotions, race/ethnicity, age, uncodable items, etc.

• Examples for how descriptions might be coded (e.g., "in good shape", "athletic", "disorganized").

GOALS OF SOCIOLOGY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN KINESIOLOGY

• Examine the larger effects of physical activity on society and life.

• Identify and analyze patterns and changes in physical activity engagement.

• Critique physical activity programs to identify service gaps and recommend changes.

• Gain insight about ourselves and culture.

• Look beyond the physical aspects of human activity.

WHY DO WE USE SOCIOLOGY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

• Since the mid-1970s, increased awareness of:

  • Socioeconomic, gender, racial, and ethnic inequities in sport.

  • Global, national, and local sport relations.

  • Exercise and societal conceptions of the body.

  • Athletes with disabilities; obesity/body size discrimination.

  • Technology’s effects on sport; globalization of sport culture.

  • Renewed interest in coaching; influence of social media.

OVERVIEW OF KNOWLEDGE IN SOCIOLOGY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• Key themes: Power relationships; gender; sexuality; participation; leadership; cultural differences; ethnicity/race; sport and politics; mass media and sport.

POWER RELATIONSHIPS

• Power is the ability to do what you want without being stopped.

• Power relations underlie social inequalities and affect quality of life and opportunities.

• In sport, many stories revolve around those in power; analyze: participation, leadership, cultural expression.

GENDER RELATIONSHIPS

• Distinction: gender vs. sex.

• Gender = norms/expectations about behavior linked to sexuality and procreation (often with religious undertones).

• In the U.S., men historically hold more power in the gender hierarchy, but this can change.

• Participation: Title IX increases girls’/women’s participation; variations across cultures.

• Leadership: Women coaching girls’/women’s teams decreased in some contexts.

• Cultural expression: Women’s participation and acceptance vary globally (examples: Sarah Attar).

NETWORK AIR TIME BREAKDOWN (MEN VS. WOMEN) – CONCEPTUAL SUMMARY

• Data across years show differences in air time for college male athletes vs. college female athletes; includes timelines such as 1989–2012.

• Discusses implications for visibility, sponsorship, and opportunities in sport.

GENDER PAY DISPARITY (PAGES 39)

• Female soccer players’ salaries (examples):

  • Carli Lloyd: $518{,}000$

  • Alex Morgan: $450{,}000$

  • Samantha Kerr: $410{,}000$

• Comparison with top male players:

  • Lionel Messi: $105{,}000{,}000$

  • Neymar: $78{,}000{,}000$

  • Cristiano Ronaldo: $35{,}000{,}000$

FIGHT FOR GENDER EQUALITY

• U.S. women's national soccer team (USWNT) gender equality efforts:

  • 2019: Equal pay lawsuit filed.

  • 2020: Judge dismissed the case; USWNT vowed to appeal.

  • Feb 2022: Settlement of $24{,}000{,}000$ to resolve the dispute.

  • May 18, 2022: New CBA approved through 2028; compensation and conditions equalized for friendlies with the men’s team.

  • Jan 3, 2023: Biden signs Cantwell-Capito Equal Pay Bill; required equal pay/medical care/travel/expenses in US Olympic/Paralympic contexts.

• Political leverage: USWNT has used high-profile performances to draw attention; notable that they have not visited the White House since winning the World Cup.

SEXUALITY AND SPORTS

• Sport has historically been heteronormative and male-centric.

• Homophobia has been pervasive due to fear and bigotry; queer athletes faced oppression and stereotypes.

• Athletes using platforms to support LGBTQ+ communities and normalize sexuality conversations (examples: Jason Collins, Brittney Griner, Carl Nassib).

• Gay Games exist; gender issues persist around binary definitions in sport (examples: Caster Semenya, Caitlyn Jenner).

NOT JUST A GAME (VIDEO DISCUSSION) – DISCUSSION GUIDANCE

• Bridging gender relationships with sexuality relationships.

• Questions to consider: What stood out in the video? Why is Billie Jean King prominent in women’s sports history? How has objectification changed sport? Do homophobia and sexism persist?

RACIAL AND ETHNIC RELATIONS

• Definitions: ethnicity vs race.

• Race is a socially defined construct based on inherited traits; ethnicity relates to cultural traditions.

• Racial stereotyping and media portrayals influence participation and perception.

• Stacking: unusual distribution of players by race in certain positions; centrality theory, role modeling, and position-specific dynamics.

• Effects: underrepresentation in leadership roles; early retirement limits earning power; ongoing shifts show gradual improvement in some areas.

• Visual data on ethnic breakdowns in major leagues (NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL) illustrate shifts in representation over time.

STACKING (DETAILED CONCEPT)

• Stacking phenomena identified by Harry Edwards (UC Berkeley) describe how white and Black athletes are distributed in positions that are not explained by random distribution.

• Explanations include centrality theory, role modeling, and positional segregation.

• Implications: can limit upward mobility in professional sport and earnings.

• Note: This phenomenon has become less pronounced in recent years but remains relevant.

NFL BREAKDOWN BY RACE AND POSITION

• Visual data show historical distributions of White vs. Black players across positions and years (e.g., Offense, Defense, Center, Quarterback, etc.).

• Observed trends indicate shifts in racialized position assignments over time.

SOCIOECONOMIC RELATIONS

• Socioeconomic status is defined by wealth, education, and occupational prestige.

• Intersectionality: race, class, and gender interact to influence outcomes.

• Participation differences by socioeconomic level:

  • Upper class: favor mostly individualized sports and display wealth.

  • Middle class: mix of individual and team sports to develop character and connectedness.

  • Working class: emphasis on community and accessible team sports.

• Likelihood of becoming a professional athlete is low regardless of class, but pathways and opportunities differ.

• Leadership tends to concentrate among wealthy, often WASP individuals in elite sport contexts.

• Cultural expression: sport can express class values; costs can limit participation for some.

THE CHALLENGE FOR KINESIOLOGISTS

• Kinesiologists should identify underlying causes of power inequities and develop strategies to make meaningful physical activity accessible to all societal members.

SOCIOLOGY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: REFLECTION (PAGES 50–51)

• Prompt: Reflect on how your own experiences in sport were shaped by identities such as gender, sexuality, age, religion, race/ethnicity, nationality, body type, socioeconomic status, and ability.

• Exercise in reflection: consider privilege and access to sport.

SPORT MOVIES AND VALUES OVER TIME (PAGE 51)

• Sport movies reveal what societies value in sport but can also rewrite history to serve contemporary agendas.

• The history accessible today was often fought for by brave athletes.

COMING UP / ASSESSMENTS (PAGE 52)

• Paper #1 due TONIGHT by 11:59pm (Canvas details).

• Quiz #1 due 9.12 by 11:59pm (open 2/3 at 9:00am); under Quizzes in Canvas; 25 questions, multiple choice; 30 minutes; accommodations available.

• Extra Credit Research Survey due TONIGHT by 11:59pm.

• Week 3 topic: Sport and Exercise Psychology with Dr. Leilani Madrigal; Read Chapter 7.