A Cultural Reading of Sports Narratives through Health Humanities

Abstract

Sports are far more than competitive physical activities; they are dynamic cultural texts that articulate social values, histories, and identities. This paper examines sports through the interdisciplinary framework of Health Humanities, integrating insights from Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Theory to explore how sports operate as sites of cultural meaning-making, resistance, and healing. The study examines the cultural politics of normativity in sporting bodies, with particular attention to the intersections of caste, class, gender, race, and ability in the Indian context. It also highlights the role of indigenous and vernacular sports such as kalaripayattu and kabaddi as repositories of cultural memory and traditional health practices, framing them as acts of resistance against globalization’s homogenizing forces.

In addition, the paper critically analyzes how media representation and commercialization shape sporting narratives, often reinforcing hegemonic ideologies while simultaneously enabling counter-narratives of inclusion and justice. By reading sports as ritualized performances of the nation-state and as commodities within the global cultural economy, this research positions the sporting arena as a contested space where cultural health, identity, and social justice are continually negotiated. Through qualitative textual and thematic analysis, the paper demonstrates that sports are indispensable to understanding the intersections of culture, embodiment, and collective well-being.