Explore how a particular type of deviance is defined, conceptualised, Essay

Explore how a particular type of deviance is defined, conceptualised, interpreted, apprehended and evaluated in 1 or 2 different sports - Essay Example This implies certain transformations on the notions of pain and injury, and ultimately on the notion of deviance. This paper is an exploration on the said transformations as effected by factors such as the agonistic nature of society and the subjection of mixed martial arts to the disciplinary mechanisms of society. Pain and injury stemming from violent behavior in sport is often seen from a negative perspective, that is, physical violence and sport are often seen as exclusive from one another. Boxing is one such sport that has received criticisms for supposedly being unnecessarily violent (Poliakoff, 1987, pp 89-90). It might be argued of course that a degree of violence will always be present in sport because of its competitive nature. However, it can be argued still that the infliction of pain and injury to the opponent is behavior that borders on deviance, in the sense that society in general does not approve of harming one’s competitor, whether it be in business or other, just to promote oneself to a more advantageous position. An excessively violent or aggressive response to conflict is generally disapproved, and hence seen as somewhat deviant. More so in the sporting arena is aggression that inflicts physical and perhaps even mental pain or injury, perceived as disagreeable behavi or. Sport, as conceived in relation to the concepts of play and games, is a social activity that presumably promotes certain ideals. When the Olympic Games were revived in 1896 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, it was with the vision of instilling positive virtues in young men, such as camaraderie, sportsmanship, and excellence. To this day, the idea of Olympism, the view that sports is used to promote values that are held in high regard by society, appears to be dominant, albeit with evident difficulties itself. This is perhaps one of the reasons as well, why violent behavior in sport is often understood as