Editing Sociology of sport (section)

== Binary divisions within sports==
There are many perspectives through which sport can be viewed. Therefore, very often some binary divisions are stressed, and many sports sociologists have shown that those divisions can create constructs within the ideologies of gender and affect the relationships between genders, as well as advocate or challenge social and racial class structures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eckstein |first1=Rick |last2=Moss |first2=Dana M. |last3=Delaney |first3=Kevin J. |title=Sports Sociology's Still Untapped Potential |journal=Sociological Forum |date=1 September 2010 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=500–519 |doi=10.1111/j.1573-7861.2010.01193.x}}</ref> Some of these binary divisions include: professional vs. amateur, mass vs. top-level, active vs. passive/spectator, men vs. women, sports vs. play (as an antithesis to organized and institutionalized activity).

Not only can binary divisions be seen within sports themselves, but they are also seen in the research of sports. The field of research has mainly been dominated by men because many{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} believe that women's input or research is inauthentic compared to men's research. Some women researchers also feel as though they have to "earn" their place within the sports research field whereas men, for the most part, do not. While women researchers in this field do have to deal with gender-related issues when it comes to their research, it does not prevent them from being able to gather and understand the data they are collecting. Sports sociologists believe that women can have a unique perspective when gathering research on sports since they are able to more closely look at and understand the female fan side of sporting events.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=Jessica |title="Which player do you fancy then?" Locating the female ethnographer in the field of the sociology of sport. |journal=Soccer and Society |date=1 March 2015 |volume=16 |issue=2/3 |pages=393–404 |doi=10.1080/14660970.2014.961379|s2cid=144986873 }}</ref>

Following feminist or other reflexive and tradition-breaking paradigms, sports are sometimes studied as contested activities, i.e. as activities in the center of various people/groups interests (connection of sports and gender, mass media, or state-politics). These perspectives provide people with different ways to think about sports and figure out the differences between the binary divisions. Sports have always been of tremendous impact to the world as a whole, as well as individual societies and the people within them. There are so many positive aspects to the world of sport, specifically, organized sport. Sports involve community values, attempting to establish and exercise good morals and ethics. Spectator sports provide watchers with an enlivenment through key societal values displayed in the "game". Becoming a fan teaches you a large variety of skills as well that are a very important part of everyday life in the office, at home, and on the go. Some of these skills include teamwork, leadership, creativity, and individuality.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}