Loic Wacquant's book Body and Soul , is a collection of observations of a “boxing gym in a black neighbourhood of Chicago's South Side” (Wacquant Back Cover). To carry out these observations, Wacquant completely submerged himself in the city of Woodlawn, located in Chicago's south side, by signing up for the boxing gym himself and being able to make first-hand observations. Under investigation was the “moral and sensual conversion” between the people in the ghetto (Wacquant p.vii). Wacquant also attempted to find out why the city was a “ghetto,” and what makes a city “ghetto." Wacquant, in addition, had to note the differences between a “ghetto” and “non-ghetto” neighbourhood. This work was operated through a thorough field investigation of the ghetto. Moreover, Wacquant analyzed how becoming a part of the gym could be a transformative experience for an individual.
In his chapter “An Island or Order and Virtue”, Wacquant paints a clear picture of a neighbourhood that was “a vast enclave of poverty and despair” (Wacquant p.18). The social structures in Woodlawn were based on “the public school, the deskilled labor market, and the activities and networks that make[made] up the predatory economy of the street” (Wacquant p.18). Wacquant highlights the city’s social structure in a way that almost makes it seem as if Woodlawn was a third-world country. In some aspects though, Woodlawn’s characteristics did fit the type. The “Infant mortality [rate] in Woodlawn is estimated at about 3 percent and rising, a figure almost three times the national average and exceeding that of many third world country” (Wacquant p. 19). The city was full of “vacant lots strewn with debris and broken glass,” and “handguns and other weapons are [were] commonplace” (Wacquant p.22). The youth of the the town grew up “accustomed to a range of predatory behaviors” that shaped their view of the world, and limited their options for their lives in the future (Wacquant p.25). It seemed as if the gym was the only way to keep the youth out of the streets. The youth of Woodlawn did not have many good role models to look up to as “fewer than 8 percent of adults possessed a high education degree and more than half had not even completed their secondary studies” (Wacquant p.19). The city of Woodlawn was in a state of crisis as the options for the youth were becoming very limited. The city created the Woodlawn-Yancee Unit program which was part of the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago. This program intended to make it easier for the youth to have a space where there safety was valued. The programs main statement was that they could “‘beat the streets’ together” (Wacquant p. 31). The unit was able to vastly change the outcome of many lives, especially in the male youth as “70 percent [of the members]…are[were] boys between 6 and 18 years old, nearly all of them are African-American parentage” (Wacquant p. 30).
Wacquant clearly shows how the racial makeup of Woodlawn’s community shaped the upbringing of those inside the ghetto. Woodlawn experienced a huge shift in diversity between 1950 and 1980. Many African Americans began to move to the city in huge influxes from “rural southern states” (Wacquant p.18). This influx also directly correlated with the “massive exodus of whites, soon followed by the outmigration of the black middle class” (Wacquant p.18). This left the city in ruins, and the whole community became segregated. Not only were African Americans immigrating to Woodlawn, but a huge rush of hispanics also moved into the area. In fact, “The African-American community is [was] from being the most dispossessed of Chicago's south side ghetto” (Wacquant p.18). This separation of races caused tension among the population of the city, but it was also able to bring cultures together in many aspects.
Since, “A third of families lived below the federal poverty line,” it should come as no surprise that many of the young men in the city of Woodlawn found the “illegal economy of the street more attractive than school when the latter leads to unemployment” (Wacquant p.19,21). In Woodlawn, the families that lived there fell under immense “hardship and vulnerability” (Wacquant p. 19). Over the course of one decade the unemployment rate doubled from 10 to 20 percent, and was steadily increasing (Wacquant p.19). The city's labor force was primarily clerical and male-oriented. Because “61 percent of households had to rely in part or whole on support from public aid,” it made it increasingly harder for the city to pay for any types of luxury goods, such as high schools, movie theaters, and libraries. The city was in desperate need of renovation, and even its proclaimed gym ran on a very low budget.
The boxers in the city of Woodlawn played an important role in the lives of the minorities and those struggling in the city’s tough “cutthroat” environment (Wacquant p. 22). Wacquant was able to get a lot of information based on who the boxers were. One local stated that “If you want to know who’s at d’bottom of society, all you gotta to do is look at who’s boxin’. Yep, Mexicans, these days, they have it rougher than blacks” (Wacquant p. 42). The “majority of [these] Boxers come [came] from popular milieus, and especially from those sectors of the working class recently fed by immigration” (Wacquant p. 41). The number of members at the gym in Woodlawn grew greatly over the course of every coming year. It could be estimated that “anywhere from 100 to 150 boys and men sign up over the course of a year” (Wacquant p.48). The gym was able to bridge the racial and social tensions in a positive, healthy activity.
The structure of the Woodlawn’s prized gym consisted of a wide range of ages, and many people who drifted in and out of the gym’s membership. Wacquant found it fascinating to specifically observe the dynamics of those who stayed consistently with the gym. He referred to those members as the “regulars.” The regulars consisted of “an inner circle of eight older members who recently turned professional after rising through the ameatur ranks together” (Wacquant p. 48). These regulars were the “backbone of the gym” (Wacquant p.48). These members were dedicated to their sport and “most of the regulars, compete[d] officially in the ameatur and professional divisions; for them the gym is the locus of an intensive preparation for competition.” (Wacquant p. 48). Wacquant saw the sociological differences between those who were dedicated to the lifestyle versus those who drifted in and out of the gym. For example, “prizefighters come more often from intact families and are much more likely to be married fathers living with their children” (Wacquant p.46). It appeared to Wacquant that overall, those who were devoted to the gym lived better lives outside of the gym.
The gym followed a rigid framework and its main teacher DeeDee enforced this structure especially with the regulars that attended the gym. DeDee was always “keen to teach” members of the gyms as long as they stayed in line with the safe community feel DeeDee strived to create. The gym had a number of prohibitions as soon as members entered the gym. These prohibitions consisted of “‘Cursin’. Smokin’ Loud talkin’. Disrespect for the women, disrespect for the coaches, disrespect for each other. No animosity, no braggin’” (Wacquant p. 55). If a member did not follow these rules they were “promptly dismissed by DeeDee or strongly advised to transfer to another gym” (Wacquant p. 56). The whole kind of space DeeDee was creating was one that would hope to “pacify the conduct of the gym members” inside and outside of the gym (Wacquant p.55).
The regulars might have come from all different background, but their common passion of boxing was something that was evident to Wacquant in his observations. The regulars’ lives outside the rink ranged drastically. One man was the owner of a small chain of laundromats while another was an older businessman. These regulars also came from all different racial backgrounds, though it did appear to Wacquant that hispanics dominated the boxing world in Woodlawn.
Wacquant introduces a new term towards the end of his section devoted to “The Street and the Ring” called bodily capital. This term relates to how much value is placed on the physical condition of an individual’s body in correlation to how it affects the individuals’ influx of capital. Wacquant describes how professional boxers have to take the quality of their bodies into extreme consideration as without the proper management of their bodies it could cost them a great deal in terms of how they place economically compared to other boxers. Most boxers have a “meticulous maintenance of each one of its [his or her] parts (most notably the hands but also the face)” in order to properly preserve the condition of their bodies (Wacquant p. 127).