Jock (subculture)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term Jock is a classic 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]
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[edit] Traits in Media
The jock stereotype is used often in 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., Kim's wealthy athlete boyfriend Jim in Edward Scissorhands, as well as many others.
Jocks as antagonists are stock characters shown as lacking compassion for the protagonist and are generally flat and static characters.
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.
[edit] 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, 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.[4]
[edit] Homophobia in jock culture
Homophobia does not necessarily appear within the jock subculture any more 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]
