Sociology Essay: Intersectionality and Discrimination Analysis

This essay delves into the intricate relationship between intersectionality and discrimination, examining how various social categories like gender, race, and class intersect to create overlapping systems of inequality. It argues that social class significantly influences aesthetics and participation in sports, drawing on Bourdieu's concept of habitus to illustrate how individuals' social origins shape their preferences and opportunities. The essay highlights disparities in sports, such as unequal pay and opportunities based on race and gender, using examples from the NBA and cricket. It also discusses the impact of social capital and the role of digital media in shaping perceptions of sports and gender. Furthermore, the essay emphasizes the importance of intersectionality in analyzing changing patterns of injustice, particularly for women from diverse social classes and ethnic backgrounds, and the historical context of sports in Australia. The essay concludes by highlighting how discrimination threatens the position of marginalized groups and emphasizes the need for inclusive practices.

Running head: INTERSECTIONALITY AND DISCRIMINATION
Intersectionality and Discrimination
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Gender discrimination refers to situation where the people are treated in a different
manner on the basis of their sexual orientation instead of their individual skills along with the
capabilities. The people live within the framework of the highly ‘gendered’ world and the
gender categories play an important role in the everyday lives of the people (Arvanitakis,
2016). Intersectionality is indicative of interconnected nature of the various kinds of the
social categories like the gender, race along with the class that helps in the creation of the
overlapping system of the inequality. Intersectionality refers to framework that helps in
conceptualizing the person or the social problem on account of the discrimination and the
disadvantages present in the society. It talks about the fact that the identity markers does not
exist in an independent manner and it paves the path for the creation of the complex
convergence of the oppression within the society. This essay argues that there exists a string
link in between the social class and the aesthetics in the society. This essay states that there is
a relation in between location of the people within the social space and the pattern of the
participation of the people in the various kinds of the sports activities.
The notion of habitus of Bourdieu has talked about the fact that there exists a link in
between the social origins of a person to that of the likely destination of a person. It can be
achieved with the help of the set of the dispositions towards that of the future that is
manifested within body on account of materialization of that of the class taste (Pampel,
2011). It can be stated that the each class along with the class fraction have an instrumental
relation to that of the body of a person. It can be said to be associated with the common sport
performances of an individual. It have been found that the working class people prefer the
contact sports and on the other hand middle classes prefer the activities that can pave the path
for attractive “body-for-others” (Jarness, 2017). It have been found that dominant classes
engage in the various kinds of the sports activities which are played within the framework of

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the exclusive clubs. Bourdieu has talked about the fact that the sport would be adopted by the
social class in the event of not contradicting the relation of the social class to that of the body.
There exists stereotypes in relation to the race in the society and this can be found to
be evident as there exists unequal pay among the players in the society. It have been found
that the black players of NBA are paid within the range of $17,000-$ 26,000 which is lesser
as compared to that of the white players. It have been found that the whites are generally paid
18 % more than that of the blacks and it points forward to the discrimination that is prevalent
in the society on the basis of the race (Spaaij et al., 2019). The racial disparities have also
been found in salaries of the coaches. The white coaches have been found to pay 14 more
when compared to that of the black counterparts. It have been found that stacking or the
allocation of the minorities to that of the positions which have lesser amount of the control
takes place on account of the pervasive gender along with the racial discrimination in the
society (Hancock, 2016). It have been found to be evident in the case of the professional
volleyball along with the volley ball that is a pointed reminder of the discrimination that
prevails in the society.
There exist the relations of the power within the sports institutions along with the
practices which are experienced with the help of the gendered, raced along with the sexed
constructs. It has been found that the prize money that is offered to the male and the female
cricket team of Australia are different that points forward to the gender disparity within the
framework of the cricket team of Australia (Washington & Karen, 2001). The prize money
that is offered should be equal that can help in providing the encouragement to the people
who are working in the women cricket team of Australia. The conceptualisation of the social
capital theory of Bourdieu talks about the fact that capital is not merely economic and that the
social exchanges should encompass the capital along with the profit in various kinds of the
forms. The conceptualisation of Bourdieu have been found to be grounded within the theories

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of the social reproduction along with the symbolic power. The work of Bourdieu talks about
the structural constraints along with the unequal access to that of the institutional resources
which are on the basis of class, gender along with the race. The social capital can help a
person in exerting the power on group or the individual which helps in mobilisation of
resources (Warner, Settles & Shields, 2018). The social capital helps the person in occupying
the positions in the cricket team of Australia as they have the greater degree of the social
influence. The grass roots level cricket have not played an important role in the creation of
the inclusive environment that have helped in the evolutionary practices in relation to the
Australian cricket. Growth of the digital media technologies plays an important role that have
helped in offering the cultural scripts in relation to the sports along with the gender. There
exists the idea in the society that the people who have the greatest amount of the financial
value should be provided with the greatest amount of the rewards in terms of the prize
money, city bonus along with the government cut (Bright, Malinsky & Thompson, 2016). It
has been found that the people who belong to the upper strata of the society gets the
opportunity to take the part in the various kinds of the sports activities speaks of the
discrimination that underlie the fabric of the society. It can be stated that sexism exists in
relation to the cricket team of Australia and the discriminatory practices have threatened the
position of the women within the framework of the cricket team of Australia. The people
belonging to the men’s cricket team of Australia are provided the privileges that is denied to
the women team of Australia.
Intersectionality can be said to be essential that can help in the analysis of the
changing patterns of the inequality along with the injustice. The women comes from the
various kinds of the social classes and the differences in the ethnicity have a great amount of
effect on their performance within the framework of the sports team. The capacity of the
women in accumulating and sustaining the wealth over the course of the life cycle can be said

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to be different from that of the men (Davies, 2017). It has a detrimental effect on the
participation of the women in the various kinds of the sports activities within Australia. The
men of the Australian cricket team gets the facility for the superior training that determines
the performance of the women. The women are affected by the various kinds of the
marginalisation that reduces the role of the women in the normal order of the society. The
non-white women have to face the discrimination which is based on gender along with the
race. It can be stated that England along with the South Africa have tapped into the rich pool
of the ethnic talent whereas the cricket team of Australia have favoured the Anglo-
Australians that points forward to the discrimination present in the society of Australia
(Kilvington & Price, 2017). The Australians belong to the marginalised class have been
found to drop out on account of the fact that they have to face the humiliation from the other
players that causes injury to the self-respect of an individual.
Idea of Habitus of that of Bourdieu states that a link exists between social origins of
an individual with that of likely destination of another individual. Black players belonging to
the NBA are paid lesser when compared to the white players that speaks of the discrimination
in the Australian society. Prize money that is paid to the male along with the female players
of Australia are different that is a pointed reminder of the gender disparity within the
framework of the society. The sexism that is present in cricket team threatens position of
women in the cricket team of Australia. The discriminatory practices are present in the
cricket team of Australia that have threatened the normal order of society in Australia. The
women who are non-white are faced with discrimination that threatens their position in the
society. England along with South Africa have been successful in making use of the ethnic
talent which have not been exercised in Australia. The Anglo-Australians are preferred in the
case of the cricket in Australia which have been instrumental in marginalised the people
belonging to the minority groups of Australia.

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References
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