Youth, action sports and political agency in the Middle East: Lessons from a grassroots parkour group in Gaza

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dc.contributor.authorThorpe, Holly Aysha
dc.contributor.authorAhmad, Nida
dc.date.accessioned2013-07-11T23:32:56Z
dc.date.available2013-07-11T23:32:56Z
dc.date.copyright2013-06-18
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractIn this paper we build upon recent scholarship on the globalization of youth culture and sport to examine the growing popularity of action sports in the Middle East. We focus on the development of the urban physical practice of parkour (also known as free running)—the act of running, jumping, leaping through an urban environment as fluidly, efficiently and creatively as possible—among Middle Eastern youth. Drawing upon interviews and media analysis of various print, digital and social media, we reveal how youth (particularly young men) in Gaza developed their own unique parkour group, despite various social, cultural, economic, physical and psychological obstacles. We explain the proactive approaches adopted by these young men to find appropriate training spaces, to develop the skills of local children and youth, and to support their peer groups. In particular, we describe how these young men are creatively engaging social media (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) to gain inspiration from the transnational parkour community, and also for opening new dialogue and establishing informal cultural exchanges with parkour enthusiasts around the world. We conclude by offering some broader comments for the Sport for Development and Peace Building (SDP) movement, encouraging youth-focused SDP initiatives to move beyond the ‘deficit model’ and toward more collaborative projects that provide space for local voices and acknowledge youth agency.en_NZ
dc.identifier.citationThorpe, H. A. (2013). Youth, action sports and political agency in the Middle East: Lessons from a grassroots parkour group in Gaza. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, published online June 18, 2013.en_NZ
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/1012690213490521en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10289/7773
dc.language.isoenen_NZ
dc.publisherSageen_NZ
dc.relation.isPartOfInternational Review for the Sociology of Sporten_NZ
dc.relation.ispartofInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport
dc.relation.urihttp://irs.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/06/12/1012690213490521.abstracten_NZ
dc.subjectyouthen_NZ
dc.subjectmiddle easten_NZ
dc.subjectgazaen_NZ
dc.subjectaction sportsen_NZ
dc.subjectparkouren_NZ
dc.titleYouth, action sports and political agency in the Middle East: Lessons from a grassroots parkour group in Gazaen_NZ
dc.typeJournal Articleen_NZ
pubs.begin-page1en_NZ
pubs.elements-id38648
pubs.end-page27en_NZ
pubs.issue6en_NZ
pubs.volumeonlineen_NZ
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