Class Differences And Inequalities In Sport

Differences and inequalities in relation to sport can be based on several elements such as race, gender, class, or disability. We will explain how different sort of evidences from DD102 support the claim made by Kath Woodward that 'Sport reflects and creates differences and inequalities' (Woodward, 2014, p. 73). This essay will look at how the Oscar Pistorius example demonstrates how rules are created in sport. The evidence will highlight differences between disable and body-able. Following that, we will consider barriers that prevent some social groups from participating in sport, namely people with disability and women. Then we will explore number based evidences supporting the claim that sport reflects and creates class differences and inequalities

For start with disabled people not being able to access sport premises. Because those facilities are not designed with people with disability in mind. An evidence in DD102 to support this claim can be found on line, in the film 'This Sporting Life' from week 14, Section 6 (The Open University, 2016a) . In Birmingham, the city has sought to encourage under represented groups to take part in sport. One group is composed of partially sighted people with sight ranging from just above total blindness to the top end of partial sight. Their main difficulty with indoor arena is the light and the colour of surface and ball. As noted by a player: 'It's just that, when they build anything to do with sport, it's always built for able-bodied people anyway. And you don't think of the light for sighted people or the type of surface for sighted people. I mean, just to look at the surface and the light would be ideal for us'. The video is presenting another evidence with the barriers that specifically target women. And even though the video is from 1980, it seems those barriers are pretty much still in place. Whether it's the practical constraint with child care and transport arrangement, or the inequalities in terms of salary between men and women, rending the access to sport facilities more difficult for women. In the discussion following the video we recognise that there is a better childcare provision today than in the eighties. Also more women work outside the home and have access to an income. However, the other factors such as social class and race and ethnicity add to the fact that not all women have access to childcare, transport or income. Furthermore there is still a pay gap between men and women (The Open University, 2016a). In that sense the evidence used here support the claim that sport reflects and creates differences and