Assignment 1-4-3

Extreme Sports Rituals and Stereotypes

Josh Dusenbery

Popular Culture HUMN 240

Professor Hamlin

October 13, 2011

Extreme Sports Rituals and Stereotypes

            An extreme sport could be anything from freestyle motocross to base jumping off a building and everything in between. Something all of the people that participate in these extreme sports have in common is that they are all crazy. This may be true in some cases, but this is a typical stereotype of people that take part in extreme sports. Many people on the outside look at someone jumping off a building and their first instinct would be to think that person is out of their mind, I included, but most people taking part in extreme sports are sort of the opposite of crazy. Most wouldn’t participate in the sport if they thought that it wasn’t safe. A lot of calculating and safety standards go into these sports, for the most part. Another stereotype that people chastise extreme sporters with is adrenaline junkies. I have seen on television where this is true in some cases. A man participated in base jumping because it was the only thing that made him feel real. One last stereotype that extreme sporters are labeled with is that it’s nothing but men. There are plenty of women that participate in these sports as well.

            I found one example of a ritual in regards to extreme sports. The sport of bungee jumping was actually a ritual started by native tribe. It was a coming of age ceremony from a boy to a man. They would jump from a platform in the trees with vines tied around their ankles. Some people so this on a ritual video and decided to try it with rubber and nylon cords tied to their feet.

            I learned through my research that women play just a much a part in extreme sports as men do. Stereotypes, especially in extreme sports, are usually negative. People don’t have to be crazy to jump from a cliff. In my eyes that would make them crazy but that’s just because I wouldn’t do it my self. Maybe they enjoy the attention or the rush; it doesn’t mean they belong in a psych ward. I have also learned that bungee jumping was created by natives with vines wrapped around their legs to become a man. In this tribe I would still be a boy because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t take part in that ritual.

Reference

Fletcher, J. (n.d.). About Extreme Sports Bungee Jumping. Retrieved from             http://www.ehow.com/about_4657241_extreme-sports-bungee-jumping.html

Robinson, V. (2008). Everyday Masculinities and Extreme Sport. Oxford, GBR:

            Berg Publishers.