Race Sport And British Society

Contrary to the popular belief that sport is an arena largely free from the corrosive effects of racism, this book argues that racism is evident throughout British sport. From playing fields and boardrooms of sports organisations, to the offices of sports policy makers and the media, this book breaks new ground in showing how discourses of 'race' and nation continue to pervade our sporting life. Looking at a range of sports, including football, rugby league and cricket, this book covers key topics such as: * British nationalism and nationalist ideology * racial science and the images of Asian and black physicality * sport, racism and the law * black feminism and the issues of race, gender and sport * the role of the media in perpetuating and challenging racial stereotypes. Challenging the prevailing liberal view that sport is one area of society where 'good race-relations' are developed, this book offers a wealth of research material, and a strong theoretical perspective on contemporary British sport. It will therefore be of vital interest to sociologists, sports studies students, sport policy-makers and anyone with an interest in contemporary British sport.

Written by one of the leading international authorities on the sociology of race and sport, this is the first book to address sport′s role in ′the making of race′, the place of sport within black diasporic struggles for freedom and equality, and the contested location of sport in relation to the politics of recognition within contemporary multicultural societies. Race, Sport and Politics shows how, during the first decades of the twentieth century, the idea of ′the natural black athlete′ was invented in order to make sense of and curtail the political impact and cultural achievements of black sportswomen and men. More recently, ′the black athlete′ as sign has become a highly commodified object within contemporary hyper-commercialized sports-media culture thus limiting the transformative potential of critically conscious black athleticism to re-imagine what it means to be both black and human in the twenty-first century. Race, Sport and Politics will be of interest to students and scholars in sociology of culture and sport, the sociology of race and diaspora studies, postcolonial theory, cultural theory and cultural studies.

In this innovative study, Patrick Ismond provides an analysis of the issue of racism within British sport. It presents a number of theoretical positions regarding race, racism and sport, before providing a background history of the involvement of minority ethnic communities. Much detailed primary research is used to inform interesting discussions concerning racism in sport and its relationship to ethnicity, identity and notions of Englishness and Britishness. The study also includes a valuable analysis of sexism in sport, and the discrimination suffered by minority ethnic sportswomen.

In spite of a great passion in the game and significant involvement at amateur level, British Asians are under-represented in professional football. This book asks how and why this situation has developed, using extensive interviews with British Asian football players to offer an insider’s assessment of the difficulties and conflicting demands faced every day. In addition, the book also critically examines the work of the anti-racist football movement, questioning the strategies and policies designed to eradicate racism and asking whether other approaches might be more effective or reflective of the views of the players themselves. Ideal for academics and students of the sociology of ethnicity, sport, youth studies or cultural studies, this innovative book will also be of interest to professionals in the field of equal opportunities.

Horse racing was the first and longest-lasting of Britain's national sports. This book explores the cultural world of racing and its relationship with British society in the long eighteenth century. It examines how and why race meetings changed from a marginal and informal interest for some of the elite to become the most significant leisure event of the summer season. Going beyond sports history, the book firmly places racing in its cultural, social, political and economic context. Racing's development was linked to the growth of commercialized leisure in the eighteenth century, a product of rising wealth amongst the middling group; changes in transport; the expansion of the newspaper press; and the new democratic and individualistic spirit of the age, especially the more flexible social codes of the late Georgian and Regency eras. In this book, horse racing emerges as the first 'proto-modern' sport, with links with the widespread popularity of gaming and betting which forced ever-increasing codification, regulation and event organization. Racing also gave expression to highly nuanced concepts of local, regional, national, class, gender (primarily male) and political identities. Drawing on the fields of social, cultural and sports history and utilizing many hitherto ignored or under-exploited sources, the book revises current histories of eighteenth-century leisure and sport, showing how horse racing links to debates about commercialization, consumer behaviour, the 'urban renaissance' and human-horse relationships. It also sheds new light not only on racehorse ownership, but also on the hitherto hidden world of racing's key professionals: jockeys, trainers, bloodstock breeders, stud grooms and stable hands. MIKE HUGGINS is Emeritus Professor of Cultural History at the University of Cumbria.

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.

Beginning with a theoretical discussion of race, sport and media, this book critically examines issues of race, racism and sports journalism and offers practical advice on sports reporting, including a discussion of guidelines for ethical journalism. In a series of case studies, representations of race will be explored through historical and contemporary analysis of international media coverage, including online and digital platforms. The background and impacts of these representations will also be discussed through interviews with athletes and sports journalists. Subjects covered include: cricket in the UK, Australian and Asian media, with particular focus on Pakistan athletics and media representations of athletes, including a study of the reporting of South African runner Caster Semenya football and the under-representation of British-Asians, with an analysis of how race is constructed in the digital arena boxing with particular reference to Muhammad Ali, America and Islam Formula One and analysis of the media reporting, international spectator response and racism towards Lewis Hamilton, described in the media as the first black driver. Finally, the book will analyse the make-up of sports journalism, examining the causes and consequences of a lack of diversity within the profession.