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Section One: The Fundamentals
A) Keywords
Exercise 1:
Provide a brief definition of one of the padlet keywords for this week.
| Anti Aging Agenda:
Anti aging agenda refers to the widely held attitude that aging/signs of aging are directly negative. This kind of attitude can be seen in sorts of public media like the advertising of ant-aging products and tools. This kind of agenda can be also seen in sports in how we apply an expiration date to our athletes and if they continue to play competitively after their “expiration date” we applaud them for being able to keep up with younger players. In doing these, we value younger players above older ones as we assume aged athletes have lower performance standards than younger athletes. |
B) The Social Significance of Aging in Sport
Exercise 2: Notebook Prompt
How is old age popularly represented today? Find an image online that you think exemplifies one defining attitude towards old age and paste in your notebook below with a brief explanation of what this image means to you.
Today we often see old age associated with weakness, inability, loneliness and being comfortable within the home. I think this image does very good job of representing how old people represented and viewed by the larger population. We see this older women within her home, looking out the window as if she wants to go outside but can’t. She seemingly has no reason as to why she can’t be outside, yet she remains within the home, almost looking frightened of what is out there. This normalization of old people being hermits and residing with the home is what we see as a common stereotype which causes for the justification of older people as “home bodies” when in reality, many old people stay quite active into their old age. By producing images like this, it normalizes an ideology that old people “should” remain within their homes, away from the public. |
Exercise 3: Notebook Prompt
What does the article (referencing another study by Dionigi) mean by its statement that sport can help aging people to simultaneously “accept and resist the ageing process” (572)? Respond by audio or text and find paste two images sourced online into your notebook showing how sport might help aging people to both accept and resist the aging process.
Emily Pike references Diongi’s study, discussing how sports can both help older people accept and resist the aging process. Diongi’s study notes how turning to sports in old age can help challenge one’s own perception of what it means to be “old”. A lot of the stereotypes having to do with older people’s physical abilities have to with the idea of being delicate, frail, imobile and weak and so when older people continue to participate in sports, they challenge these ideas. By continuing to participate in sports in old age, there are diversified representations of what old age can look like. Not all those over the age 60 become incapable of physically strenuous activities.
Diongi’s study also highlights how sports can deter older people from the aging process and resist the physical changes that come with it. The resist to aging in the world of sports can be seen by those who become frustrated with their changing bodies and capabilities and rather than learning to adapt different athletic practices according to their new capabilities, they become angry that their body can no longer do the same as it once could. |
Exercise 4: Notebook Prompt
Who are the groups less likely to have extensive opportunities to take part in sports, according to Pike? How does privilege factor into aging and sport? (200 words max)
| Pike shares that “those less likely to have extensive opportunities to take part in sports include those with disabilities, the very frail, some minority ethnic groups, those confined to care facilities and those living in rural areas” (pg. 573). We can see that privilege is a large influencer in dictating who will continue to participate in sports as they age considering that not all groups of people have the same access to the same standards. For example, Pike lists minority ethnics groups as a group that is less likely to receive opportunity for sport. Considering that on average there is a pay gap between POC’s and white people, when thinking which group of people will receive a better retirement package and pension that can pay for a high quality retirement homes, white people on average will have a more expansive pension that will fund their retirement lifestyle, allowing them to live in a retirement home that prioritizes mobility and activities in residents. POC’s on average, will not be given the same luxuries as white people, meaning they are less likely, in retirement to be able to afford to live in a fancy and expensive retirement home that pays for the organizations of physical activities in residents
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Exercise 5: Padlet Discussion
Why do you think age discrimination is “reported more than any form of prejudice” with older people presented as a threat to social values and interests? Feel welcome to use video in your responses. Paste your comments (or transcript of your video) below!
| I think that age discrimination is more likely to be reported over any other form of prejudice because ageism is one of the few forms of discrimination that be applied to an previously idealized and privileged body. For example, a young white man cannot just become black and experience the discrimination that is felt by the POC community. However, a young white man CAN turn into an old white man, and therefore experience the discrimination that is felt by the older-aged community. This means that someone who could’ve lived their whole live never experience any form of structural injustice and discrimination all of the sudden becomes aware of it because they are experiencing ageism. I feel that older people are more likely to report because they experience a shock to their reality of going from the most prioritized body to an un-prioritized body. I feel that other minority groups are less likely to report discrimination because they have been desensitized to it. Whether young or old, many POC don’t report an injustice they’ve experienced because they’ve been experiencing it their whole life and don’t see a point in reporting because they do not feel it will change anything. |
B) Older Women and Sport
Exercise 6: Notebook Prompt
What differences do you see in these ads? Which one is more inclusive? How is age represented or not represented in each? Answer these questions in your notebook.
| The first difference I notice in these ads is that in the nike ad, only professional and high level athletes are showcased whereas in the other ad, there are varying levels of athletics represented, showing more what sport and activity looks like for the average, non-profossinal-athlete kind of person. I feel that the second ad is more inclusive as we see women who live busy lives represented as well as different ages, both young girls playing high school games as well as older women who participate in their own sport activities like rock-climbing. Within nike there is really only young professional athletes showcased, but within the second ad, we see both older and younger women showcased as well as show older and younger women can workout and be active together.
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Exercise 7: Notebook Prompt
In her article, “Assessing the sociology of sport: On age and ability,” Elizabeth Pike references a “trend towards a ‘feminisation of ageing’, with many women living longer than men” (573). Do you agree that aging has been “feminized” in this way? How? Answer these questions in your notebook.
| I do agree that aging has been feminized. Much more so then men, the foucs of aging out how it changes the body and how it changes appearance is not so clearly attributed to mens bodies in the way it is to women. I feel that because so much value in women is placed on our bodies, attempting to preserve our bodies and the appearance of them, there is more effort dedicated to slowing womens aging. Because of this there is more of a discussion and discourse around aging in association with which has feminized aging. I also feel that because we associate being old with being weak, we also associate feminine qualities with aging. For example, the good deed of helping and old lady cross the street is always given as an example and never helping an old man cross the street. This is because we associate being weak and needing help with something feminine and so we do not think of the aid that might be needed towards aging men.
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Section Three: Module Mini Assignment
It seems that peterborough has been met a halt regarding the development of pickleball courts in Bonnerworth Park. While the mayor of Peterborough, Jeff Leal wishes to move ahead the plans to build more pickelball courts, there are members of the community as well as other city officials that are challenging the development of this local greenspace. The plan is to build 16 pickelball courts on Bonnerworth’s land. One of the justifications for building this park that was given by Mayor Jeff Leal is that introducing more pickleball courts focuses on the integration of community sports and getting people more active. Considering that pickleball is a new sport that has lent itself more to the older population, it seems that Leal’s push for community activity is directly as targeting the older population of Peterborough and trying to get them more active in community sports. It is also important to note that aside from the student population in Peterborough, the city can be considered a retirement community, with a large portion of the population being made up of senior citizens. Leal’s push to develop these courts shows evidence of a neoliberal agenda, showing that the only solution to a problem to abuse and change the land. The land that is debated being developed on is already a park, a place where community sports and activities can be hosted. If Leal’s agenda is simply to encourage more physical activity and community in Peterborough, he can do so without tearing up the land. Instead of building pickelball courts he could organize weekly community walks to be hosted in bonnerworth park. There solutions to the issue of making a community more active without abusing the land and the fact the Leal’s first response is to uproot long standing green space reveals a neo-liberal agenda. |
