Ep. 4 -- Ch 3 - Sport and Socialization

This episode focuses on socialization in sports. Socialization is a key concept in sociology so we take some time defining it and discussing its importance to the field. We emphasize that socialization is an active, ongoing process of becoming human. This moves us to a discussion of physical literacy or the process by which people learn learn to use their bodies in complex ways. We then discuss how the simultaneous movement of sports out of public spaces into private spaces and from child control to adult control impacts socialization. Drawing on Howard Becker's notion of socialization into careers, we discuss how a person's sporting career can develop over time and at some point end. Finally, we talk about how sport can become part of a healthy or not-so-healthy lifestyle. The Sports in Society Podcast is copyright Jay Coakley and Jeffrey Montez de Oca.