Social Issues in Canadian Sport

Marty Clark, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of health and physical education at Mount Royal University. His teaching and research engage with historical and sociological perspectives on health, physical activity, physical literacy, and sport. He is currently a coinvestigator on three research projects: a critical study of golf in the United States; a collaborative inquiry into sport experiences of trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people in Alberta, Canada; and a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project on freewriting in academic contexts.Clark began a five-year term as chair of the department of health and physical education in 2025. A student-focused educator, he is deeply committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and the ongoing work of Indigenization and decolonization in post-secondary education.William Bridel, PhD, is an award-winning associate professor in the faculty of kinesiology at the University of Calgary. He began a five-year term as senior associate dean of academic programs in 2025. His teaching and research focuses on sociocultural aspects of sport, physical activity, and the body. With a distinct interest in studying sex, gender, and sexuality in sport and the larger cultural context, Bridel's research has included a focus on 2SLGBTQIA people's inclusion in sport historically and in contemporary times, along with broader questions about equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and safer sport.Bridel's advocacy work includes being a founding member of the LGBTQI2S Sport Inclusion Task Force. He has also worked with and spoken to various community, provincial, and national sport organizations, challenging athletes, coaches, administrators, volunteers, and officials to address inclusion in multidimensional and meaningful ways. Beyond sport, Bridel was a member of a local advisory group for a research and advocacy project addressing the restrictions of blood and plasma donation placed on gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men in Canada.

"Social Issues in Canadian Sport is timely and revealing, and it sets new directions for understanding sport in Canadian society. The authors offer us personal and deeply engaging accounts of issues in Canadian sport, with the inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives. This should be a go-to text for researchers and students across a range of disciplines."—Carly Adams, Professor at the University of Lethbridge and Editor of Sport and Recreation in Canadian History"This book offers a comprehensive introduction to, and overview of, the sociology of sport in Canada, with contributions from notable and up-and-coming academic voices from across the country. Teachers, researchers, and students alike will find something useful and meaningful in this important resource."—Simon C. Darnell, Professor at the University of Toronto"Social Issues in Canadian Sport is a critical exploration of how sport intersects with power, identity, and justice in Canada. Clark and Bridel's thoughtful approach, combined with contributions from diverse voices and scholars, creates a text that doesn't just analyze sport—it challenges readers to reimagine its possibilities for creating a more equitable society."—Cathy van Ingen, Professor at Brock University

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Introduction to the Critical Study of SportWilliam Bridel and Marty ClarkChapter IntroductionAn Introduction to the Authors and Textbook Editors What Is Sport?Sociology of Sport 101Sport and Identity Content and Format of the Remaining Chapters Chapter SummaryChapter 2. Introducing Sociological Concepts and TheoriesMarty Clark and William BridelChapter IntroductionThe Sociological Imagination Social Theories and Sport Sociology Intersectionality Chapter SummaryChapter 3. Systems and StructuresMarty ClarkChapter IntroductionThinking Sociologically About Sport Systems Thinking About Social Structures Making Connections: Social Structures, Systems, and Sporting Experiences Chapter SummaryChapter 4. Gender and SportSarah Barnes and Mustafa KaracamChapter IntroductionDefining Key TermsA Long (and Contested) History of Sport as a Male PreserveFrom Exclusion to Inclusion With CaveatsChallenging Gendered Injustice in Society Through SportChapter SummaryChapter 5. Sexuality and SportJudy LiaoChapter IntroductionBreaking Barriers, But at a CostIncreasing Visibility in the 21st CenturyComplicating Visibility and InclusionConclusion! Conclusion? Can We (Re)Imagine Resistance (Visibility and Inclusion) Without Assimilation?Chapter SummaryChapter 6. Race, Ethnicity, and SportJanelle Joseph and Ornella NzindukiyimanaChapter IntroductionSome Definitions and ContextsUnderstanding Race and Racism Through Intersectionality TheoryThinking Theoretically About Identities and Race Using Cultural StudiesUsing Critical Race Theory for Knowledge and ActivismChapter SummaryChapter 7. Sport for Decolonization? Reimagining Sport Through an Indigenous LensDaniel HenhawkChapter IntroductionSettler Colonialism and Indigenous PeoplesSport, Leisure, and Settler ColonialismWhat Does Any of This Have to Do With Sport?Sport for Cultural Resurgence, Reconciliation, and DecolonizationChapter SummaryChapter 8. Sport, Class, and CapitalismSamantha King, Gagandeep Minhas, and Gözde ÖncilChapter IntroductionThinking Sociologically About Sport and Economic Inequality in CanadaResistance to Capitalism: The Anti-Olympic MovementChapter SummaryChapter 9. AbilitiesJennifer Mooradian and Teresa HillChapter IntroductionThinking Critically About DisabilitiesSport and DisabilitiesDisability in the Context of Neoliberalism and ColonialismChapter SummaryChapter 10. The Body and SportNikolaus A. Dean and Andrea BundonChapter IntroductionMind–Body DualismBiomedical Model"Exercise Is Medicine" and the Concept of Healthism Body CapitalBiographical DisruptionPain, Injury, and the Culture of RiskChapter SummaryChapter 11. Sport and SustainabilityTavis Smith and Michael S. DaoChapter IntroductionSustainability, Sustainable Development, and SportsThinking Critically About Sport and SustainabilityChapter SummaryChapter 12. Sport and Social ChangeAndrea CareyChapter IntroductionSocial Justice and Social ChangeSport as an Exclusionary SystemSport as a Mechanism to Navigate Social ChangeChange Within Sport: A Focus on PolicyAthlete Activism: Sport Is More Than "Just Sport"Chapter SummaryChapter 13. Future DirectionsWilliam Bridel and Marty ClarkChapter IntroductionSummary of ThemesA Conversation About Critical Sport Studies Chapter SummaryGlossaryReferencesIndexAbout the EditorsAbout the Contributors