ABSTRACT
Various attributes are associated with sporting participation for boys and men in Western cultures. One of these concerns indoctrination into manhood. Raphael (1988), for example, argues that without historic rites of passage modern men are confused about what it means to be a man, proposing that competitive sports help fi ll this void. Others view sport as a mechanism for socializing boys into a host of socio-positive psychological characteristics necessary in an industrial culture. Others, like Sage (1990), suggest that sports permit governments to transmit dominant social and political values the way religion once did. Still others suggest that competitive teamsports are an effective solution to many social issues related to the social integration of racialized people (Girginov, Papadimitrious, & Lopez De D’Amico 2006). And, of course, if you ask my fi rst year university students why sports are ‘good’ they will repeat the lore of sports’ mythical attributes: sports promote teamwork, cooperation, fi tness, and self-esteem. They might suggest that sports help minorities fi nd employment out of ghettos; that they help promote school attendance; and that sport helps certain athletes earn scholarships to pay for the rising costs of university attendance. There are absurd beliefs, too. Some believe that sports help men (who they perceive as naturally violent) vent their anger in an acceptable manner (cf. McCaughey 2007). While others maintain that sports ‘teach’ boys to win and fail in public view, perhaps letting them learn from their triumphs and tragedies in the process. Somehow failure and it’s public ostracizing even ‘builds character’ in kids too young to understand the rules of a game.
