JOCK (SUBCULTURE)

The term 'jock' is a classic North American stereotype of an athlete. The etymology of the term 'jock' is derived from the word ''jockstrap'',^[1] which is the athletic support garment worn by men who engage in physical sports. The jock stereotype is attributed mostly to high school and college athletics participants who form a significant youth subculture. In sociology, the jock is thought to be included within the socialite subculture, which also contains the preppies and Ivy-Leaguers.^[2] As a blanket term the jock is considered synonymous with an athlete.^[3]
Other words that may mean the same as "jock" include 'musclebrain' and the similar term 'musclehead'. These terms are to most often refer to the conceit and selfishness that develops with the stereotype.

Contents

Traits in media

Marketing

Homophobia in jock culture

List of stereotypical characteristics

See also

References

External links

Traits in media

The jock stereotype is used often in the mass media to portray a relatively unintelligent and unenlightened, but nonetheless physically and socially well endowed character. Examples of this include the high school quarterback Kevin Thompson in the MTV cartoon ''Daria'', the popular athlete love interest Tommy Ross in ''Carrie'', the spoiled bullying antagonist Luke Ward in the first season of ''The O.C.'', and Kim's wealthy athlete boyfriend Jim in ''Edward Scissorhands''.
Jocks as antagonists are stock characters shown as lacking compassion for the protagonist and are generally flat and static characters. ''Heathers' "Kurt" and "Ram" roles and Jean Grey's first boyfriend Duncan Matthews in '' are such examples.
Often, in comedy where the main characters aren't popular, the jock is the chief antagonist and cruel to the main characters. He hates nerds or homosexuals, is dim-witted, worshiped by the other students despite his cruelty, is obsessed with pretty girls, and is unable to recognize the pretty-ugly girl's beauty until she has a makeover. He is despised by the nerds, girl or not, and usually has an unfortunate ending.
As a protagonist the jock will often be a dynamic character who through an epiphany or new understanding will lead to a change in the values of the jock. This change often means a cessation of athletics and/or some other equivalent social sacrifice which leads to the character no longer being considered a jock. Examples include Randall "Pink" Floyd in ''Dazed and Confused'' and Andrew Clark in ''The Breakfast Club''.

Marketing

The jock image has also become an icon in both erotica and marketing, such as that used by Abercrombie and Fitch, or the erotic photography of Bruce Weber, Steven Underhill, and others, who photographed jock archetypes like the Brewer twins (Keith & Derek), the Hall twins (Bruce & Seth), Peter Johnson, and "Marky Mark" Wahlberg.
Use of the jock stereotype in marketing to gay teens was questioned in an editorial in XY magazine, written by its editor, Peter Ian Cummings. In the piece, phrased as a "fairy tale" about a supposedly-closeted Abercrombie & Fitch executive, Cummings writes that Abercrombie executives "suddenly realized a way to turn the junior-high boy’s locker-room desire into spare cash." He criticizes their use of the "jock-power-humiliation fantasies" of young gay men to sell them Abercrombie clothing and accessories. In his view, Abercrombie's corporate "strategy was based on adolescent gay boys’ desire for lust, belonging, acceptance, and love," and was ultimately unhealthy. In the editorial, he makes particular reference to the poser of the jock subculture in the high school context.^[4]

Homophobia in jock culture

Homophobia does not necessarily appear within the jock subculture anymore than it does in other social groups. Nevertheless in North America, there has never been an openly gay athlete in any of the four major professional sport leagues. (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL). However, six professional athletes have come out of the closet a few years ''after'' retiring from their sport, a recent example being John Amaechi. In the WNBA there are a handful of lesbian players, most notably Sheryl Swoopes.^[5]

List of stereotypical characteristics

★ Very attractive girlfriend (usually a cheerleader), but shows signs of disrespect toward women (abuse, crude sexual jokes, etc.)

★ Muscular/athletic, but conversely not considered intelligent

★ Often perceived as getting preferential treatment solely due to athletic ability (e.g., passing grades not deserved, bad conduct overlooked)

★ Popular among classmates or students (but not always)

★ Homophobic

★ Competitive

★ Bullying, cruel and mean, in extreme cases anti-social or psychopathic personality structure with tendencies to violent crime

See also

★ High school subcultures

★ Tough guy

References

1. Online Etymology Dictionary on Jock
2. Herman and Julia Schwendinger's sociological study on youth subcultures
3. Princeton's WordNet entry on Jock
4. articles/mag/xy28%20abercrombie%20boy The Abercrombie Boy, XY #28
5. ESPN and Sheryl Swoopes on lesbianism in the WNBA

External links

★ Brian Deneke: Punk rocker murdered by high school football player

★ Gay athletes in the 20th century