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Power And Discourses In Sports Culture

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The line between training and abuse is beginning to blur as athletes today are often pushed to physiological and psychological extremes in pursuit of achieving success (Tofler, Stryer, Micheli & Herman, 1996). However, there is a norm unique in the culture of sport, especially at the elite levels, that accepts, expects, and encourages such pain. This is given that practices have largely been formed by individuals of power (for example, by coaches and medical professionals) in ways that they believe will develop an athlete's excellence. As a result, it is these individuals that hold significant accountability for the development of an athlete's physical performance, behaviour as well as their psychological and emotional well-being. (Becker, …show more content…
Thus, to better understand the relationship between social structure and the normalizing mechanisms in sport culture, the work of Michel Foucault regarding disciplinary power and discourses will be referenced. According to Foucault (1973), discourses are defined as the set of truths (re)produced from those with power that shape the ways individuals perceive and understand various social practices. In other words, discourses are discursive "truths" that act to obscure what can be understood. As a result, this production of knowledge such as "no pain, no gain" used in coaching contexts, describes how such forms of behaviour are accepted as normal. Consequently, they often go unchallenged despite many reasons to the contrary as these ideas are continuously circulated and reinforced by those of power (Foucault, 1973). Furthermore, Foucault describes power as the relationship in which a person or persons tries to shape the attitude, belief, and actions of others and argues that this is exercised through disciplinary means in all human relations (Foucault, 1982). With this Foucauldian framework in mind, an understanding of how an athlete's body is subjected and manipulated in sport can be …show more content…
Drawing on Foucauldian theory, the compliance of athletes in which they are likely to accept instruction and other forms of control in an unquestioning manner describes the results of the power relationship. In sport, such power is defined by the difference in age and the demonstration of knowledge or a specialized set of skills on the training ground (Rylander, 2014). As a result, sport coaches and medical officials are able to act as authorities upon which athletes rely on. Correspondingly, their assigned role of designating and monitoring increases the effects of power because it makes it harder for athletes to believe they have any control over their development. In addition, given the length of time athletes would spend with such individuals, significant levels of trust are placed. Thus, it can be argued that this asymmetric coach-athlete dependency relationship is key in causing a sense of obligation to comply and preventing athletes from reacting and potentially resisting their standards. This in turn, can make athletes engage in destructive behaviours that are a threat to their physical and psychological well-being such as disordered eating to achieve the perfect body shape and persistence through pain and

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