Racism has been the ugly underbelly of Australian sport for over a century (Human Rights, 2007). According to Szoke (2012), ultimately, racism is a denial of human relationship (Szoke, 2012). There are many ways in which race and skin colour has been “marked” in sport in Australia. This essay will look at the many ways in sport in which race and skin colour has been represented to society. This essay will begin to look at race from a historical perspective within the context of Australia. It will also discuss and critically analyse the way this issue is being protected by relevant policies, probed by the media and spectators and monitored by both relevant policy documents and society in sport and in our generation today.
During the early
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According to Szoke (2012):
Racial Discrimination involves any act where a person is treated unfairly or vilified because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief. Racism impacts directly on the full enjoyment of individual’s human rights, in particular the right to equality (Szoke, 2012, para 11).
When looking at the historical context of racism in sport in Australia, in the very beginning when European explorers and settlers encountered Aboriginal people from the 1600s-1800s, they often said that Aboriginal people were not humans but were actually animals - like apes or monkeys (Riceman, 2013). This stereotype has continued through time with racial remarks such as these have been directed at Aboriginal and Islander players. According to Tatz and Adair (2009) the history of Aboriginal exclusion from organised competitive sport has been well documented, these exclusions are based on spurious racial grounds such as they “smelled”, they “always won” and that they were “uncivilised” (Tatz & Adair, 2009, pp.3). One historical perspective of racial discrimination in Australian sports is the day Nicky Winmar, a famous AFL player stood up to racial truants from spectators in 1993.
Winmar’s gesture not only demonstrated his pride in his colour but also began the process towards eradicating racism in the AFL (Ralph, 2011). Another example of sporting racism in Australia is the 1995 racial clash between Damian
Adam Goodes is an Indigenous Australian famous for being a player for the Sydney Swans team in the Australian Football League (AFL). Being a well-known AFL player and also winning Australian of the year for his charity work with indigenous youth, Adam Goodes can be considered as a high profile Indigenous person. Throughout his career, he has used his status as a platform to address racial discrimination towards indigenous peoples within Australia, as he himself has received public discriminatory racial slurs. Through sport and community work – Adam Goodes has transformed indigenous culture, by challenging its race relations and empowering the next generation of Indigenous role models. Indigenous Australians continue to have an ongoing resistance to the processes of colonisation and also of emphasizing an indigenous presence within Australia.
“Sports Logos an Insult to Aboriginals” is an essay explaining how professional sports teams use Indian symbols. Aboriginals find it very offensive when sports teams adopt their cultural icons. The writer uses examples such as Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins and Washington Redskins to portray an image of how these icons have been use. Augustine states that the use of these religious symbols or spiritual leaders as sports logos is offensive. Also, this leads to children to be victims of racism. It can be argued that people feel Aboriginal people should be honoured that these imagery of Indians is being used. Augustine argues back that no honour lies
The text is about a famous AFL star who plays for Sydney Swans, Adam Goodes. On the 28th of July, his team, Sydney Swans was playing against West Coast and when the game got really intense, the opposition fans started booing Adam Goodes. It is believed by many and many have stated and labelled that the boo from the opposition fans are racist. Adam Goodes have received many support from many people, including his coaches, Nathan Buckley and Paul
Sociologist Peter Figueroa created a framework in order to analyse racism within society, and particularly to determine the equitable and accessibility within a physical activity (Hede, Russell and Weatherby, 2010). Figueroa’s Framework is an exceptionally useful and educational tool that is utilised in order to understand the socio-cultural factors that impact sports participation as an individual or in a team. Consisting of a five layer structure, Figueroa’s Framework includes the cultural, structural, institutional, interpersonal and individual levels which all umbrella their own factors of accessibility and equitability.
This proves that understanding racial identity is a worldwide issue. ‘In Australia, however, we don’t know the impact of racism, especially of subtle and prolonged forms of racism, on the mental wellbeing of Aboriginal children and how this impacts on their academic self-concept and consequently academic achievement and outcomes (Purdie, Milgate & Bell, 2011).
Native Americans symbols and culture exemplify the things that we admire in our athletes strength, endurance and courage. However ,the way that we use these symbols can be offensive and hurtful to the very people that we want to honor. In this paper , I will discussed how teams are mocking and being disrespectful to the Native American culture.
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
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.
Hockey fans are the root of the racism in hockey. For many decades Canadians have known hockey as being their national sport. There are black Canadians, Asian Canadians, and Aboriginal Canadians. What are the differences between those Canadians citizens but the pigment of their skin? There is racism in hockey it is just not as clear as other forms of racism. Canada is so welcoming and is a very diverse counrty. Hockey fans are so cruel and reluctant for change in their world. The focus of this paper is on the lack of diversity in hockey. What will be examined is the "differences" between black and white people, society 's perception on hockey, Canada 's history with the sport and diversity. The overall question is: is it the sport or is it the people?
This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part the concepts or race, ethnicity, prejudice and racism are defined and how they are connected is discussed. Part 2 of the paper looks at the ‘White Australia’ policy and why it was introduced. The impact of such a racist immigration history on contemporary Australia is also discussed in terms of attitudes and behaviours of the population.
The next example of racism in minor hockey involves parent’s involvement in the problem. “Parents yelled racial slurs and insults, including "Go home, Mohammed," at a referee on the ice” (CBC, 2015). This is a particularly disturbing incident which speaks volumes to the root of the problem. It is explained that parents have a very passionate belief and concern attached to preserving the segregation of the sport. Even the diversity of referees is a sensitive area to the existing culture. Furthermore, this incident speaks volumes to the acceptance and magnitude of racist behaviour demonstrated even by parents. In other words, parents are so outraged by the inclusion of visible minorities in the game that they cannot contain their racist thoughts to
Racism is the mishandling or understanding of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (New Brunswick Human Rights Commission). Although racism is a controversial topic, other issues have experienced just as much contention. One of these is discrimination. Discrimination is the denial of equal rights because of someones personal features, such as their race or color. Racial jokes and ethnic slurs are blatant examples of racial discrimination. Racial slurs and jokes make
The article uses compelling first hand evidence of Adam Goodes quoting on the topic of the article from an optimistic angle to persuade the reader to agree with the article. The images accompanying the article show Goodes looking positive and proud, the second image giving a visual of the article itself. Goodes is further described as being a “legend” and “winning the admiration and respect of people around Australia.” This use of selective language aids the journalist’s point of view on the athlete. This article displays Goodes as being a commendable repient for the Australian of the Year Award for his “anti-racism advocacy and youth work,” both inside and outside his sporting career.
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,
In the beginning of the article, Wall talks about the categorisations of racialised discourse. She mentions different justifications of stereotypes, and how they relate to what is referred to as the construction of the ‘new world’. Wall believes that as well as the ‘traditional’ old racisms, there is also a ‘new racism’ which is spoken about by Barker in 1981. She uses the example of Maori as the unemployable/unemployed, which has became one of the main stereotypes, that construct the identity of specific Maori.