Complicating the "soccer mom:"the cultural politics of forming class-based identity, distinction, and necessity

Res Q Exerc Sport. 2009 Jun;80(2):345-54. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2009.10599569.

Abstract

Using Pierre Bourdieu's theories of social class differentiation and class reproduction, this paper provides an analysis of class-based identity politics in contemporary suburban America. Through a critical ethnography of the emergent, American, upper-middle-class "soccer mom" phenomenon, this study contributes to a growing body of research that interrogates class-based, cultural practices of status differentiation. As part of a larger; longitudinal ethnographic study, this paper specifically focuses on the ways in which women, who are driven by upper-middle-class habitus, contest and construct their identity as mothers of young, soccer-playing children.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Data Collection
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Middle Aged
  • Mothers*
  • Social Class*
  • Social Identification*
  • Sports*
  • Suburban Population
  • Vereinigte Staaten