Drinking Alcohol in a Multicultural Cricket Club : The Tension between Social Norm and Religious Tradition?
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Alcohol is a firm part of Western sporting culture, and drinking has become a routinized behaviour at many sporting events. The use of alcohol at these events has become the norm and a symbol of masculinity. However, not all individuals find this norm acceptable, for example, due to the demands of their religion. Drinking alcohol thus may cause tensions between the social norm of accepted behaviour and own tradition. The authors have already shown that these people who do not drink alcohol at sporting events are subject to ridicule, exclusion, and discrimination. This conference paper re-discusses the significance of alcohol use as a source of identity, belonging, group cohesion, interpersonal tensions, social exclusion, and discrimination. The contribution is based on ethnographic research in a multicultural cricket club in the Czech Republic where cricket club members are expatriates of different countries, cultural backgrounds, traditions, and religions; and where drinking alcohol represents a fixed part of cricket events. What is the significant role of alcohol in a diverse environment full of cultural differences? Does the use of alcohol lead to discrimination and social exclusion of selected groups of individuals? And how do the individuals themselves, who do not conform to this majority accepted social behaviour, assess the situation? |
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