bodybuilding (wasRe: Chris's Obesity (was Warrior Menu)

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> Re: Chris's Obesity (was Warrior Menu)

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> Gene-

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> >Well, the fact that competition is a requirement of sport,

obviously

> >doesn't imply that all competitions are sport. That it is viewed

by plenty

> >of people as a sport, well, I dunno. Is looking a certain way a

sport? Not

> >to me. Is this a sport in the same sense as, say, marathon running?

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> " I'd prefer not to call it a sport, but many people do call

bodybuilding a

> sport, and inasmuch as definitions derive from usage rather than

vice

> versa, I'm afraid it is what it is, even if we think it's absurd. "

>

> This is an excellent point, and I'm going to try to wriggle out of

it. Yes -

> definitions derive from actual usage, and meanings of words should

not be

> changed to suit the particular purpose. But look at the context

here. I

> think we both agree that probably the majority would refer to it as

a sport.

> But, also, I'd say, a sizeable minority would not consider it a

sport. So,

> in a way it is both a sport, AND not a sport, depending on the

emphasis that

> any the particular person has in classifying it. This is not so

much an

> issue of definition, but classification, and I'm not so sure that

the same

> criterion of usage applies here. In considering the issue, we are

> considering how sport is defined, and there, I think there is enough

> variability that you can say 'I don't consider body building a

sport' and

> not be at variance with usage. It's a matter of opinion, not usage.

>

Well, does it help to know the origin of the word - sport? Comes from

the French " desport " , which means " amusement " .

I haven't read the whole thread on bodybuilding, but I feel tempted

to say (add?) something. In this country and maybe elsewhere,

bodybuilding is often associated with narcissism and less often with

(male) homosexualism. But I am not trying to make a sweeping

generalization, mind you.

JC

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