Social inequality and sport in Germany – a multidimensional and intersectional perspective

Abstract

In this article, we stress that class plays an important role in life choices, lifestyles and access to valuable resources and that it thus also matters for adolescent sport participation. However, as structures of social inequalities have become more complex and as sport cultures have diversified, multidimensional and intersectional approaches are needed to uncover and discuss class patterns in different settings of sport participation. Based on a nationally representative panel study from Germany (the GSOEP), the article, therefore, explores which class-based factors contribute to or hinder adolescent participation in sports clubs, extracurricular sport activities at schools and commercial sport settings, and it compares the relevance and interdependence of these factors with further dimensions of social inequality and socialising contexts. The empirical findings underline that (a) class should be seen as a strong influencing factor for sport participation but that (b) further factors, such as gender, migration background and parental sport activity, play an equally important role. In-depth analysis points to (c) the importance of intersectional perspectives, as it shows that education is able to buffer the effects of migration background and gender in some, but not all, settings. Lastly, our data shows that (d) sports clubs are more exclusive than extracurricular sport activities at schools and commercial sport settings.