Andrew Moore 's Opera Of The Proletariat : Rugby League, The Labour Movement And Working Class Culture

With its conducive environment of great weather and plenty of space and water, accompanied by its fervour to differentiate from the British but also retain links to the empire, sport played a significant role in forming Anglo-Australia’s identity (van Duinen, 2003). As early as 1882 the role the media played in inculcating such a notion was evident when journalist Richard Twopenny claimed that “Australia was the most sports obsessed nation in the world” (Cashman, 2002). van Duinen (2003) argues that Australia’s sporting culture aligns closely to the formation of the national identity and its

In America, sports are viewed as a proud American tradition. Football is a collective celebration of American excess and capitalism. However, according to Andrew Moore’s article, “Opera of the Proletariat: Rugby League, the Labour Movement and Working-Class Culture in New South Wales and Queensland”, across the ocean in Australia, there is a strong connection between the creation of the Australian Rugby League and the Australian Labor Movement. This paper will analyze Moore’s claims and determine the level at which Rugby’s cultural impact played out on Australia.

Williamson’s play, ‘The Club’, accurately reflects many Australian attitudes of today, even though the play was written many years ago. Some of the attitudes expressed, such as tradition, are still equally relevant in todays society. Tradition plays a very important part in ‘The Club’. The characters have their own ideas thinking that tradition must be changed to achieve success in todays society. For example, Laurie, the coach, blames an old Club tradition for his failure to win a premiership. He states, ‘You and your cronies wouldn’t let me buy players.’ Jock, the vice-president, replies, ‘We were upholding old tradition. It was wrong, but we believed in it.’ They should have believed in their club as tradition often gives us insight into what outcomes

Rhoden wrote, “Integration in sports—as opposed to integration at the ballot box or in public conveyances—was a winning proposition for the whites who controlled the sports industrial complex.” Arthur Foster

Sport in Australia has grown increasingly important from 1945 to the present day as more traditional sports soon expanded into a wider variety of sports with many factors contributing to this change. As a result of the war, many men wanted membership opportunities to sporting clubs to reinforce the bonding of mateship they gained during the war. As well as Australian men getting more involved in sports, migrants from European countries started arriving in Australia, they also brought with them an interest in sports and in particular soccer. As the growing popularity of soccer was introduced it increased interest in more cultures to build clubs originating from their own country impacting on Australia’s multicultural upbringing. From the 1970s

As the nation’s gender inequality continues to diminish, things like sports stereotypes, and labour force conflict cannot be understood without understanding the term of identity. Identity work is explained by Schwalbe and Mason-Schrock in 1996 as “anything people do, individually or collectively, to give meaning to themselves or others” (as cited in Ezzell, 2009, p. 1). I propose to examine inequality based on gender identity and in depth the process of stereotype issues, - how people construct stereotypes in gender inequality in the context of sport- among women Rugby. The academic literatures are based on gender identity/ inequality, where it provides many examples of individuals deflecting the norms “by ... creat[ing] a unique identity as heterosexy-fit— simultaneously tough, heterosexual, and conventionally attractive” (Ezzell, 2009, p. 14). With the intention of deflecting/ creating an exception to these norms, it only creates greater issues as not only does society view them in a certain way, but also the player themselves. The overarching goal of the proposal is to address the social issue and understand why society to this date gives harsh views towards women’s rugby with a common stereotypical view. As an illustration the views were described by Ezzell (2009) who conducted a personal communication with some female rugby players who stated that other views them as: “scary, butch lesbians,” “she-males,” “he-shes,” “lesbian man-beasts,” and “butch,

Rugby can be played by anyone. It can be simple, although it can be very intense for those watching and playing. Anyone who enjoys football or soccer can also like rugby. There are many different positions in rugby that can be played by anyone. You need to be able to take a hit. It has great history tied with soccer.

3. A vehicle for social change, where homeless and low socioeconomic issues and unemployment are attentioned.

This is very hard though because equipment and availability for the working class is limited due to lack of resources, especially financially. A Marxist focuses on the distribution of power in sport: Who has the power and why? Inequality can again be identified. Sport is determined and shaped by the economic system in the powerful Bourgeoisie and again promotes the interest of those: increasing capital, maintaining power and privileges (Abercrombie et al, 2000).

Australia is widely regarded as both characterised and united by sport. Sport has an elevated place in Australia's official and popular national culture, and the country’s reputation for being a 'paradise of sport' has become a largely unquestioned aspect of the Australian way of life. Gender is a social construct that outlines the roles, behaviours, characteristics and actions that a specific society deems appropriate for men and women (WHO, 2014). The established relationship between gender equality and sport is a widely regarded issue in not only Australia, but all around the world. Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including sport and physical recreation

As a young country, Australia feels like they have to prove themselves, and they reckon the best way for them to do that is on the competitive playing field(2). The nation’s character and identity always seems to be on trial during international sporting events, and the nation prides themselves on international victory. Victories against England and the United States are especially sweet to Australians because of their relationship with these superpower countries. Matches against New Zealand are also of the utmost importance to Australians pride because of the proximity of their neighboring country. Issues of national identity are always at stake when Australia competes against these countries.

C) How do the two authors differ in their belief about the place of sport in Australian

In the 1920’s, workers began to have more leisure time in industrialized towns and cities which led to organized sports. The most popular sports were boxing, baseball, basketball, and football. Baseball was considered as the ‘national pastime’. Sports were racially segregated ion North Carolina. Women had limited opportunities to play sports.

This essay will be an attempt to bring together the ideas from our class readings about the Marxist sociological perspective as well as insight from other readings to further my understanding of Marxism and its applications to sport. I will lay the groundwork for the theory then proceed with how his theory is applied to accessibility issues in sport, distribution of power in sport and commercialization of sport.

Sports, admittedly, have had a huge impact on our culture. Some of us even use sports as an excuse to gather our family for some quality time with each other, whether they just hangout for the sake of entertainment or engage in a meaningful conversation full of fervid passion when discussing spectacular plays, athletes, and coaches. However, people talk about the multitude of positive traits that sports are associated with, one must be informed about the abundance of issues that sports face; issues that keep sports from being what we want it to be- free from malicious intent and more along the lines of a peaceful collaboration perpetuated by authentic equality; coming together to proclaim our love for the game. Inequality, for example, is