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

‘I think sport is boring. I am no good at it, I don’t enjoy it and I can think of better things to do on a Saturday afternoon’

Now, an iconic, non-judgmental documentary Cronulla Riots voices the untold story. We are invited to believe their voices as they believe the riots as “un-Australian”, just like John Howard.

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.

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,

A comparison of the text, ‘Us Mob, Walawurru’ written by David Spillman and Lisa Wilyuka and the film “Rabbit Proof Fence” directed by Phillip Noyce reveals that social attitudes in Australia between the 1930’s and the 1990’s have changed enormously. In the film ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ set in 1931, Aboriginal children, more specifically half-castes –who are children with an Indigenous and Caucasian descent- are taken away from their families and to ‘Moore Rive Settlement’, where they are trained to fit into mainstream Australian society and be domestic servants. Later, the novel “Us Mob Walawurru” which takes place over the time period between the 1960’s to the 1990’s, demonstrates the changes that have taken place over the last fifty years. European Australians are more accepting and respectful of indigenous culture and the government has changed the laws regarding Terra Nullius to give the Aboriginal

G.M. Shepherds illustrates through Bill Cummings his central points on sport being taken too seriously in Australia. Shepherd uses Bill to demonstrate how sport can bring out the worst in someone; at Bills’ son, Nicks, football game, his “rabid” behaviour over his sons unpromising sports career implies how it is essential for boys to succeed in sport for their parents to be proud of them. Shepherd demonstrates the disregard of diversity in disciplines as a country by highlighting the seriousness Australians demonstrate in regards to sport, implying how Australia could become a greater country if it concentrated on other objectives as well as sport. Ultimately, Shepherd centrals his views around being an open minded

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 in the early 1900s has developed a reputation as a ‘working man’s paradise’ for its greater opportunity to success and an egalitarian society. However not all workers proved this to be true. In order to determine this statement, Issues to be discussed include firstly the hours of work for different genders, secondly the working conditions and finally the dispute for the right to fair treatment to women and Aboriginal natives throughout the 19th century.

Contests in skill, strength and speed have occupied an important place in every culture throughout the ages. The meaning of the term sport and the effect that sport has on society is always changing. Sports have especially changed in the last two decades and can certainly be evidence by the growing number of labor disputes and court cases involving all sports.

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.

Good morning Mrs Fisher, fellow classmates and scholars. Today I present to you sports in the 90’s. Popular culture refers to the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images, and other phenomena that are within the mainstream of a given culture. Sports fits into this genre as it was a great part of society in the 90’s that shaped us as a community and how we as Australians were labelled and seen by the rest of the world. The influence of overseas developments on Australian culture greatly shaped our society in the 90’s. The way that sports in other countries around the world changed and developed had an impact on how Australians went about watching and participating in many different sports. The

The representation of Indigenous Australians in fiction and nonfiction texts are influenced by a range of factors. In the contemporary world of multicultural Australia, there has been a variety of ways groups of people are represented in texts. The Indigenous population is often portrayed in ways that strengthen harmful stereotypes. However, there are also a variety of positive outlooks and portrayals expressing their strength and achievements. In texts studied in year 8 English, the representation of Indigenous Australians in Crow country are characterized as outcasts and reflect cultural distinction. Newspaper articles regarding “Adam Goodes” demonstrates how preconceived thoughts from many Australians destroys sporting stars outlook upon

Upon analysing equity and access in sport, it is important that I am aware of what levels of the framework have influenced my sport participation. In Queensland especially, the sport of AFL comes with primarily negative connotations. These preconceived notions about the sport and the cultural have had a negative effect on my participation and approach towards the sport. Gender stereotypes have also been a deterrent in my participation. Sports, such as AFL, require participants to be competitive, courageous, powerful and strong. These qualities are largely associated with male gender stereotypes. Sport reinforces hegemonic masculinity by celebrating stereotypically masculine and activities and attributes, and restricting the behaviour of women.

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.