(Abstract)
In the Korean society the social activities of women have been extremely oppressed due to the traditional Confucian ideals and conventional habits of predominance of men over women. This led to the participation of women in sports activiti...
(Abstract)
In the Korean society the social activities of women have been extremely oppressed due to the traditional Confucian ideals and conventional habits of predominance of men over women. This led to the participation of women in sports activities to be even more passive and closed than in Western societies. However, the women's rights movements that took place in the West in the 1960's expanded the area of social activities that woman took part in and also brought on an increase in women's participation sports by discarding the negative attitudes towards women's sports that were present in the past. The recent increase in the participation of women in sports have gave rise to the possibility of forming a unique sub-culture, and women's sports have been undergoing some great changes following the changes in the social structure and attitudes of Korea.
This research analyzes the characteristics and functions that the female soccer club sports sub-culture possesses in this Korean society, where Confucian ideals of patriarchy still remain deeply rooted. Research conducted on the sports sub-culture of a club consisting of married women in a masculine sport such as soccer, rather than in a feminine sport such as aerobics, dance sports, yoga, or dancing will be useful in understanding the social activities of sports.
In order to analyze in depth cultural phenomena that cannot be explained through standardized tools, rather than describe superficial types, tendencies and relationships, I used Ethnography, a method of qualitative research. As participants in this research I selected 13 members of the female soccer club Challenger(false name) who were registered with the Council of Sport for All of district D, in city D.
Data was collected through participation observation, thorough interviews, and the collection of relative documents. The collected data was analyzed following the steps of description, analysis and interpretation of the culture-sharing group, developed by Wolcott(1994).
For analysis, I divided the characteristics that the sub-culture of a married women's soccer club possesses into personal characteristics, social and cultural characteristics and social structural characteristics. Examples of personal characteristics are becoming fixed as a way of life, variation in the way personal leisure time is used, and the transition of sportsmanship to real life. Some social and cultural characteristics were deviation from sex ideologies, conflict and accommodation of married women participating in soccer, and the expansion of social relationships. Some social structural characteristics were changing over to a system that is not sexually discriminating in the sports environment, and the promotion of girls' soccer classes.
To analyze the functions that the sub-culture of a married women's soccer club had I divided the functions into positive functions, negative functions, express functions and potential functions following the method laid out by Merton(1949). Stress relief, amelioration of health, and the providing of opportunities make good use of leisure time were some positive functions. Negative results caused by becoming addicted to sports like neglecting responsibilities such as educating the children and doing chores around the home were found to be negative functions along with the loss of a feminine appearance. The amelioration of health, and the providing of opportunities make good use of leisure time were express functions that were also positive. Some potential functions that were also positive were creating a basis of sympathy with your family, and the change of thought into considering the married women's soccer club activities as a type of mental household chore.