{"title":"MMA and the purist/partisan distinction","authors":"J. Holt, M. Ramsay","doi":"10.1080/00948705.2023.2168680","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The purist/partisan distinction has dominated recent discussions of sport spectatorship and sport aesthetics. The focus of such discussions, however, has been sport in general or, often implicitly, team sports in particular. Here, using mixed martial arts (MMA) as a case study, we argue that specific aspects of the sport in question can significantly affect how the purist/partisan distinction plays out for viewers. MMA’s status as an individual combat sport mitigates, in illuminating ways, the partisanship displayed so prominently among fans of team sports. We also examine the role of external attitudes – in both the betting subculture of MMA and purist attitudes toward individual combat sports and martial arts – in shaping MMA spectatorship.","PeriodicalId":46532,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Philosophy of Sport","volume":"50 1","pages":"18 - 35"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the Philosophy of Sport","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2023.2168680","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ETHICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT The purist/partisan distinction has dominated recent discussions of sport spectatorship and sport aesthetics. The focus of such discussions, however, has been sport in general or, often implicitly, team sports in particular. Here, using mixed martial arts (MMA) as a case study, we argue that specific aspects of the sport in question can significantly affect how the purist/partisan distinction plays out for viewers. MMA’s status as an individual combat sport mitigates, in illuminating ways, the partisanship displayed so prominently among fans of team sports. We also examine the role of external attitudes – in both the betting subculture of MMA and purist attitudes toward individual combat sports and martial arts – in shaping MMA spectatorship.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of the Philosophy of Sport (JPS) is the most respected medium for communicating contemporary philosophic thought with regard to sport. It contains stimulating articles, critical reviews of work completed, and philosophic discussions about the philosophy of sport. JPS is published twice a year for the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport; members receive it as part of their membership. To subscribe to either the print or e-version of JPS, press the Subscribe or Renew button at the top of this screen.