Australia Sport Identity Essay

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.

Earlier in the 1980s Australia formed an elite national sports system to compete with the best athletes in the world. In the 1990s Australia gained extensive amount of benefits from this system as Australia created a new generation of worldwide successful sports stars.

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

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.

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 Australian Identity by Isaiah Ainsley The typical Australian can be defined as muscular, tall and athletic, worldwide we are still seen as what we were in the 1800’s. That stereotype of let’s say Crocodile Dundee with the corkscrew hats living out in the bush is what we are seen as to anyone outside of Australia. Currently, the nation’s stereotype is dilute, where hegemonic, protest and alternative masculinities are interchangeable. Throughout multiple examples the idea of the stereotypical Australian being hegemonic is supported. Hegemonic society consists of patriarchy and homophobia.

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.

A nations identity is a way for all its common citizens to unite together, and for a country as young as Canada, its identity is often not complete and is ever changing. Social trends and beliefs are constantly evolving and therefore have an impact on how the rest of the world views Canada. However, sports have been a staple in the Canadian identity for over 100 years, but even sports aren’t impermeable to changing times. Over the last 18 years there has been a steady decline in sport participation across all age groups in Canada and to keep the soul of Canada intact it is important to keep funding the sports industry because the growing disinterest in sports puts a main factor of the Canadian identity at risk. Using public tax dollars to build

The Australian of the Year Award is still a relevant representation of the 21st century Australian. Each year our nation celebrates the achievement and contribution of eminent Australians through the Australian of the Year Awards by profiling leading citizens who are role models for us all. They inspire us through their achievements and challenge us to make our own contribution to creating a better Australia. In this essay, I argue that the Australian of the Year Award is bound up with our sense of nationhood and presents the best of Australian qualities, there is no such thing as a ‘real’ Australian and the Australian image is still relevant, nobody is marginalised through the Australian of the Year Award, it is so much more than just a pat on the back, and most

In the book “Winning Is the Only Thing”, Randy Roberts and James Olsen unravel the true origins of sports and the post war effects on American sports. The book reveals the social, economic, racial, and worldly affairs that shaped sports in the U.S. Roberts and Olsen also explain how sports went from fun and games to winning being the only importance. The book begins with the cold war and its effects on the Olympic Games, demonstrating how the games were politicized. It then transitions with racial integration becoming a thing of the past, to the modernization of sports through mass media and technology. “Winning is the Only Thing” offers a variety of the historical stories, giving the readers factual insight on the controversial and scandalous sides behind the transformation of American sports. The book was informative and quickly covered the historical and evolutionary aspects of sports, keeping the book short, sweet and easy to read.

Popular culture is defined as types of entertainment that most people in society enjoy such as, book, TV, movies, and music. Australians finally had a national identity, and were viewed as a rough and hardworking people who valued mate ship and earning their place in society above all else. The Ideal Australian man also was portrayed as highly masculine and tough, if not a bit ignorant (Garton, Stephen). This aspect of Australian culture was represented in Australian film and TV which is an important part of Australian popular culture. Many well-known Australian movies such as Gallipoli (1981), The Water Diviner (2014), and Australia (2008) all embody the ideal Australian characteristics of bravery, resourcefulness, and mate ship. Even a comedy such as Crocodile Dundee (1986) which became a worldwide sensation displayed some of these characteristics. As well as film, Australian sports men and women strive to represent these Australian characteristics. The ideal Australian sportsman/women would always try their hardest and never back down, there is also the idea that Australian athletes should be good sports and not show overconfidence. If an Athlete strays away from these ideals they get persecuted and ridiculed. A recent example of this is the drama that surrounds Australian tennis at the moment. Most Australians believe that

This study reveals much about the attitudes that persist in society today regarding sport and gender. Early on, sport was created to serve men, evolving as a celebration of maleness, valuing strength, power, and competition. It idealized, promoted, and rewarded successful, elite athletes, established “the dream” as a professional career in sports, and viewed mass participation in sport as a tool to weed out the weak (Hill, 1993). In contrast, women’s sports originated to “address the expressed need for healthful exercise” (Huckaby, 1994). Unlike the competitive warrior mode

The period of 1865 to 1950 was critical to the formation of “Modern” sport that is recognized today. In an article by Allen Guttmann titled From Ritual to Record: the nature of modern sport, Guttmann outlines seven characteristics that played a central role in the development of sports. These concepts were created as a sociological history of sports and took into place both American and European competitions. Guttmann’s notions of secularism, rationalization, bureaucracy and quantification, among others, all advanced the culture of sports; yet the most important of the stated characteristics is equality.

Sports and religion are things that can go together in many ways. Sports were founded on religion and were kept strong by religion. Now sport is taking over as religion almost in today's world. Sports can promote things that are not necessarily right according to God but we participate anyway. While how the mind and body are connected give another way of how sport is. Finally, we see that sports in a modern context have changed greatly and are ritual heavy one would almost say idolic. Religion and sports are both here to stay and they really are a way something that can unite everyone.