Sailing and Social Class

Alan O’Connor

Routledge

£130.00

Alan O’Connor is a professor of media studies in Canada and a disillusioned yacht club member. His criticisms include lack of help for people who are new to sailing; dull, poor quality teaching materials on written courses; absence of facilities for disabled people; lack of welcome for people from ethnic minority groups and LGBT+ people.  He considers the history of recreational sailing and sees it as an upper-middle class activity, dominated by white men with conservative political views.

Many readers will find his use of modern structuralist discourse off-putting and others may feel his range of reference is overly restricted. Nevertheless some of the questions he raises are questions that should be considered.

It’s a pity about the academic format and price.