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Physical Education - Participating in sport: socio-cultural factors -
gender

Participating in sport: socio-cultural factors

Looking at it from a sociological perspective, there are many factors that
influence us in initially becoming involved in an activity. Factors such as
family, gender, school, geographical location, ethnicity, cost and the
media can all play a role in influencing us to initially become involved -
collectively we call these factors 'social and cultural influences' (or
'socio-cultural influences' on initial participation).

It is fairly common to see boys playing football and cricket because they
are boys and girls playing netball because they are girls - this is largely
due to gender and the stereotypes we as a society have developed. Schools
and parents and peer groups can reinforce these gender divisions.

Some activities are less defined as male/female, for instance basketball,
tennis, swimming and athletics. Other sports like netball are becoming less
gender specific with many males playing in mixed teams and competitions.
There are also male leagues in many districts to cater for this interest.
However, it is still common to see initial socialisation into sport
occurring along gender lines.

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