International Review for the Sociology of Sport 

About: International Review for the Sociology of Sport is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Sociology of sport & Football. It has an ISSN identifier of 1012-6902. Over the lifetime, 1764 publications have been published receiving 41886 citations. The journal is also known as: Sociology of sport & IRSS.

The politics of sport-for-development: Limited focus programmes and broad gauge problems?

Abstract: This article explores the almost evangelical policy rhetoric of the sports-for-development ‘movement’ and the wide diversity of programmes and organizations included under this vague and weakly theorized banner. It is suggested that, although the rhetoric of sport as a human right has provided some rhetorical and symbolic legitimation for sport-for-development initiatives, the recent dramatic increase in interest reflects broader changes in the aid paradigm, reflecting perceived failures of top-down economic aid and an increased concern with issues of human and social capital, as well as the strengthening of civil society organizations. In this context the presumed ability of sport to offer an economy of solutions to a wide range of development problems led the United Nations, with the encouragement of a vociferous sport-for-development lobby, to turn to the world of sport in an effort to achieve its Millennium Development Goals. While there is a certain theoretical logic to some of the policy assertions ...

When bodies are weapons: Masculinity and violence in Sport:

Abstract: This paper utilizes a feminist theoretical framework to explore the contemporary social meanings of sports violence. Two levels of meaning are explored: first, the broad, socio-cultural and ideolog...

`Keeping It Real': Subcultural Media and the Discourses of Authenticity in Alternative Sport

Abstract: This article examines the consumption of alternative sport's subcultural media. Our research is situated in the context of `post' CCCS subcultural research which has explored how the media and the ...

Bending the rules: media representations of gender during an international sporting event.

Abstract: Extensive qualitative research shows that, even at its best, media coverage of women athletes tends to be ambivalent, meaning that it juxtaposes positive descriptions and images with descriptions and images that undermine and trivialize women’s efforts and successes. However, researchers have rarely explored the implications of nationalism — in particular during global sports events — for coverage of women’s sport. This analysis of media coverage of Cathy Freeman during the Sydney 2000 Olympics points to an instance in which gender lost its place as the primary media framing device because of Freeman’s importance as a symbol of national reconciliation.

It's still a man's game? The experiences of top-level European women footballers

Abstract: Scraton et al. focus on the access to and the careers of elite female football players in four European countries. The chapter draws on 40 interviewees who provide insights into the beginnings of their careers and into their experiences with gendered opportunities and barriers. In all countries football is still considered a male domain. A transcultural comparison of players’ biographies, guided by theoretical approaches to gender and socialization, reveals both similarities, for example, with regard to the support of male mentors, and differences, for example, with regard to the organization of sport and the football culture. In addition, the chapter explores how femininity ideals and women’s circumstances of life seem to have a large influence on the access of females to this game.