Abstract
The article is a first attempt to apply Bourdieu's theory of social class differences, as it has been outlined in his book "La distinction, Critique sociale du jugement", to the understanding and the explication of the development of sport involvement in childhood and adolescence. The article puts the stress on sports in the context of family and peers and tries to demonstrate (1) how elements of taste do penetrate sportive situations, (2) how and why sportive situations are not apt to integrate people of different tastes, (3) that sport even in childhood and adolescence is a social system that helps to differentiate society vertically, (4) and it is shown that Bourdieu's concept of classes (incl. taste) might be able to explain social differences in sport involvement better than the traditional concept of class or social stratification.
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