Contemporary Sport Subcultures

1660 Words7 Pages
In modern contemporary society, there exists a mainstream culture in which the societal norms are expressed and followed by the majority of the population. However, not every individual is part of the mainstream culture. This brings forth the existence of subcultures, or group of people with their own distinct culture that differentiates them from the mainstream culture. Just as there are societal subcultures, there are subcultures within sport. Even though these sport subcultures differ from mainstream culture in things such as values and bodily practices, they are still very similar. In fact, most of the contemporary sporting subcultures are the alternatives to the disciplining constraints of traditional sporting activities. Contemporary sport subcultures offer an alternative to the sporting mainstream by emphasizing the aspects of individualism, risk and by transcending the differences between work and leisure. In the late 1950s, there was a drastic change occurred in the way people behaved. A culture with a strong belief in individualism emerged as a popular subculture. This caused the development of new, youth based, alternative sport cultures, which sought to provide alternatives to traditional sport. These “California sports,” are different from the traditional sports because they are more for fun or recreational purposes, not solely for competitive purposes. They are also unregulated, so the participants of the sport usually are the ones that enforce the rules. This enables the athlete to be more creative and possibly have more fun than if he or she were involved in a highly organized, more intense sport. When athletes are able to be more creative, they are able to display their individual talents and ideals. These new sports in the 1960s and 1970s helped thrust the idea of individualism into the spotlight, and thus helped individuals express themselves
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