Cultural influences on equity and sports participation

Chapter overview

A brief history of sport in Australia page 307 Australia’s sporting identity page 313 Socialisation page 313 Gender roles and stereotypes page 314 Ethnic identity page 324

Now that you’ve finished … answers

A brief history of sport in AustraliaPage 307

A brief history of sport in Australia

Heavily influenced by our history as a British colony. Popular sports included cricket Sport viewed as a manly pursuit

Building manliness and character

Belief that sport was for developing attributes of the upper class. These included:

Leadership Courage Discipline

Belief in encouraging working-class boys to play sport – a “muscular Christianity” to develop Christian values

Participation by women was for health reasons only

Colonial sportsmanship

Success at sport was seen to be important to the new colony First international cricket match in 1877 International victories fostered national pride

Cricket Football Rowing Athletics

(foot racing)

Amateurs and professionals

British social class system reflected in Australia Sporting opportunities and access based on wealth and social

status Athletes divided by social status

Amateurs Wealthy with spare time to engage in sports Were considered morally superior

Professionals Working class, could only afford to take time from work if their sport

offered a prize or payment

Media reinforced class divide. Example in cricket: Amateurs were referred to as ‘gentlemen’ Professionals were referred to as ‘players’

Women’s sporting history

In 19th century, participation based on social class — mainly upper class women who had time for sport

Late 19th century, opportunity to participate in organised sport: Golf (with restrictions on club memberships and access) Archery Rowing Croquet Sailing Tennis

Focus was on social contact, recreation and graceful movement

Bathing seen as an acceptable pastime as sexes were segregated.

Bathing machines at beaches ensured privacy from onlookers

In 1912, Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie won medals in freestyle swimming—at the first Olympics with female competitors

Working-class women more likely to participate in athletics, as there were no associated costs.

Other acceptable physical activities for women: drills, calisthenics, dancing

Competitive women in sport were trivialised by the media

Australia’s sporting identityPage 313

Australia’s sporting identity

Sport is a central feature of Australian culture Public recognises and supports winners International success generates national pride Sporting success reinforces culturally dominant sports

Swimming Cricket Rugby League AFL Netball

SocialisationPage 313

Socialisation

Process by which individual beliefs, opinions and values are shaped by society

Factors influencing socialisation are known as social determinants:

Family Peers

Schools Government

Media Religion

Ethnicity Gender

Socio-economic status Age

Gender roles and stereotypes

Stereotypes are oversimplified characteristics of groups of people.

Stereotypes are often used to foster discrimination.

Ballet dancers are some of the fittest athletes in the world, as can be seen from this photograph of Shane Weatherby as Puck in the Queensland Ballet’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Gender stereotypes in sport

Qualities associated with male athletes

Qualities associated with female athletes

Competitive Courageous Determined

Muscular Powerful Strong

Passive Nurturing Not ideally suited to sport

Gender stereotypes are reinforced in all levels of society Offered different sports Teachers coach gender-based teams

Stereotypical attitudes are changing Slow process

Societal beliefs and attitudes relating to “gender-appropriate” sports still exist

Women discouraged from playing sports requiring aggression Boxing Rugby league

Men discouraged from participating in aesthetic activities (e.g. dance)

Media continue to reinforce these social stigmas

Personal reflection

Does your school offer you an opportunity to play sports that

have traditionally been considered appropriate for the

opposite sex? If so, have you taken up the

opportunity? Why?

Hegemonic masculinity

Hegemonic: ruling Hegemony: leadership Hegemonic masculinity:

Men have held the power and authority to influence society and set the rules that govern behaviour

Sport reinforces hegemonic masculinity: Cultural level:

Celebrating masculine activities Reinforcing masculine attributes

Structural level: Less government funding for women’s sports Less media coverage for women’s sports Less prize money for women’s sports Identifying women’s competitions by their gender (compare WNBL and

NBL) Majority of Chief Executive Officers for sporting organisations are men Restricting women’s membership of sporting organisations, such as golf

clubs.

Ethnic identityPage 324

Ethnic identity

Indigenous sporting culture traditionally very strong Promoted interaction amongst tribes Encouraged participation Solved intertribal disputes

Elders organised competitions that mirrored their daily activities: Throwing spears and boomerangs Running Jumping Wrestling Fighting Dancing

Sport and Indigenous cultural identity

1962 saw the formation of the Yuendumu Games for indigenous Australian communities

Sports which have provided an avenue for indigenous Australians to excel are:

Boxing Lionel Rose

AFL Adam Goodes

Athletics Cathy Freeman

Rugby League Preston Campbell

Multicultural influences

Almost 25% of Australians are born overseas Sport is an effective vehicle to break down cultural barriers Examples:

Football Bocce Table tennis Badminton Martial arts

Participation rates of children ages 5–14 yearsMales Females

Main sports participated in Number % Number %

Swimming 240 100 17.2 262 800 19.8

Football (outdoor soccer) 277 800 19.9 82 700 6.2

Netball 3500 .03 225 000 17

Australian rules football 223 700 16 11 400 .9

Tennis 131 600 8 83 200 6.3

Basketball 118 700 7.4 83 200 6.3

Gymnastics 23 700 1.7 101 200 7.6

Rugby league 97 200 7

Athletics (track and field) 42 400 3 47 000 3.5

Futsal (indoor soccer) 59 400 4.3 17 500 1.3

Hockey 25 600 1.8 31 800 2.4

Other 221 200 15.8 160 900 12.1

Now that you have finished ...Answers

1 Explain why Australia has been identified and identifies itself as a sporting nation.

Sport has long been a central feature of Australian culture. Sport was used as a means of establishing an identity through

victories against international teams. Australian working class sportsmen were admired for their

physical strength, toughness and resilience. These qualities were highly valued in an emerging nation. Australia has a smaller population than many other “sporting

powers”.

2 Describe how sport has been used to establish Australian pride.

Australians take pride in continued international success across many sports.International sporting successes (past and present)

Davis Cup America’s Cup: Australian II Olympic success (especially in the 1950s – 60s) Various swimming competitions

Sporting identities Don Bradman Phar Lap (even though the horse was born in New Zealand)

World champions in various sports Hockey Netball Rugby League and Union

3 Outline the types of sports that were deemed suitable for women during the late nineteenth century and explain why women’s sporting choices were limited.

Sports available: Golf Archery Croquet Tennis Athletics (running) Rowing Sailing

Reason why sport was limited: Sport seen as a “manly pursuit”. Sports that gained early acceptance involved little physical strain. Access mostly available to upper-class women. Restricted membership (associate members only).

4 a Define socialisationb List the factors that influence the socialisation process.

Socialisation can be defined as “the process by which individual beliefs, opinions and values are shaped by society”.

Factors which affect socialisation or social determinants are: Family Peers Schools Government Media Religion Ethnic background Gender Socio-economic status Age

5 a List qualities that are associated with stereotypically male and female gender roles in Australian society.

MALE FEMALE

Competitive Muscular Quiet

Courageous Powerful Passive

Determined Strong Nurturing

5 b Explain how these gender roles and stereotypes are reinforced, using at least one example from each of the five levels of Figueroa’s framework.

Figueroa’s levels Examples of reinforcing stereotypical views

1. CULTURAL • Views associated with sport characteristics• Aesthetic activities (dance)

• Dominant sports• Masculine hegemony

2. STRUCTURAL • Media and inequitable coverage of sports• Inequitable financial rewards

• Careers• Prize money

3. INSTITUTIONAL • Sports offered at schools• Recognition of sport success

4. INTERPERSONAL •Teachers coaching specific teams• Role models: fathers have greater influence on participation rates

5. INDIVIDUAL • Opportunities• Experiences from above

5 b Continued

The selection of physical activities within physical education classes at school can contribute to traditional notions of masculinity and femininity and is an excellent example of how different levels from Figueroa’s framework can be linked to personal experiences in senior physical education. The cultural level can analyse to what extent the range of sports offered to the class. Are the four selected physical activities biased towards a particular sex or are they gender neutral? The link to the personal level is shown by discussing the relationship between stereotypical choices and preferred choices for males and females. The interpersonal level can focus on how physical education teachers might reinforce typical stereotypical roles; for example, a woman teaches dance but a man teaches rugby league. These experiences can reinforce social stereotypes.

At a school level and beyond there has been an increase in the variety of sports offered to both girls and boys that would normally have been reserved for one gender. It is becoming more common, for example for girls to participate in rugby league and AFL or for boys to play netball. In doing so, however, they challenge the notions of what it means to be masculine and feminine and subsequently, a new set of stereotypes has emerged.

5 c Briefly describe how society’s perceptions of gender affect individuals’ sporting and physical activity choices.

Aggressive sports involving contact are seen as predominantly male Boxing Rugby League / Union AFL

Aggressive sports with less contact are acceptable for both sexes Football (soccer) Waterpolo Basketball Martial Arts (judo)

Non-contact sports acceptable to both sexes Tennis Swimming Athletics

Non-contact sport mainly acceptable to females Dance

6 a Define hegemonic masculinity.

Hegemonic masculinity can be defined as males holding the power and authority to influence society and set the rules that govern behaviour.

6 b Briefly explain how the cultural, structural and institutional levels of Figueroa’s framework reinforce hegemonic masculinity in Australian sport.

6 b Continued

In the cultural chapter, we discussed the need for Australian men’s success in sport being of paramount importance, leading to increased national pride, recognition and status. This train of thought has survived the past century and can still be seen today.

As women were latecomers to competitive and representative sport, their success today is often considered to be a bonus on top of men’s achievements. The media perpetuates this and a good example of this can be seen with the reporting around the swimming achievements from the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics. These events should have cemented Australia’s female swim team as a superpower in the pool; instead, their achievement was devalued by the focus by the media on the men’s performance. Initially their success was celebrated widely in both print and electronic media giving them their much-needed and sought-after coverage. This coverage was short lived, however, and the focus soon turned to the deemed ‘failure’ of the men’s swim team who, in comparison, achieved a limited medal haul. This apparent failure of the men was more newsworthy as it threatened the identity of Australia as a successful sporting nation.

6 b Continued

Hegemonic masculinity is constructed at all levels of Figueroa’s framework; perhaps mostly at the institutional and structural levels. The passing and prevention of laws by the government and the mandating of by-laws by individual sporting institutions are possibly the two most influential contributors. Furthermore, males have maintained control through their positions of power within such sectors that make the rules. It is common, for example, for the chief executive officers of sporting associations to be male. As of 2010, only two of the 15 members of the executive board of the Australian Olympic Committee are women despite an IOC recommendation of 1997 that national Olympic committees achieve a 20 per cent target for women's representation by the end of 2005.

The most visible tool in the maintenance of hegemonic masculinity in sport is the media. The media serves to both persuade and reinforce society of masculine dominance by reinforcing male power and by marginalising women and their sporting activities. They limit the coverage of women’s sport and coverage is mostly geared towards the male population by sexualising and trivialising the female athletes.

7 Explain the link between sport and the promotion of Indigenous Australians’ identity.

Indigenous Australians have a strong link between sport and their culture.

Developed through activities that reflect life skills: Physical skills Communication

Dance Solving disputes

Sport has provided an avenue for Indigenous Australians to demonstrate their sporting prowess and culture to be positive role models to all Australians.

Boxing AFL Rugby League Athletics

7 Continued

Increased recognition of outstanding contribution to Australian sport:

Lionel Rose: 1968 Australian of the Year Adam Goodes: Brownlow Medallist Cathy Freeman: Olympic Gold

Cathy Freeman wearing the Aboriginal flag at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and 2000 Sydney Olympics

Increased awareness of Indigenous culture: Formation of the Yuendumu Games (1962) All Stars NRL games (2010)

8 How are elite athletes able to use their status as role models to promote discussion and change attitudes about culturally entrenched stereotypes within Australian society? Is such change possible? Justify your response.

Preston Campbell came up with the All Stars concept in the hope it would encourage indigenous Australians to learn more about their identity.

Advantages of elite sportspeople: Media coverage through sponsorship is guaranteed due to their profile from sporting

achievements Continued media exposure through careers in the media

Wendell Sailor Gordon Tallis Liz Ellis

Are often asked for their views on a wide range of topics. Wendell Sailor is working with the ARTIE program – Achieving Results Through

Indigenous Education, run by the Former Origin Greats and designed to encourage academic, cultural and sporting achievements in indigenous students. Through this forum he has spoken about the experience of being bullied in support of Just Say No To Bullying, a campaign by The Courier-Mail and radio station 97.3 FM.

Read the full article “Wendell Sailor wants to break the vicious cycle of bullying” online.

Image credits

Slide 1, Photolibrary/Aflo Foto Agency Slide 4, National Library of Australia Slide 6, State Library of Queensland Slide 8, Photolibrary/Mary Evans Picture Library Slide 9, National Library of Australia Slide 11, Getty Images/POOL/Dean Lewins Slide 14, Queensland Ballet Slide 17, Getty Images/Stefano Oppo Slide 21, Newspix/Renee Nowytarger Slide 23, AAP Image/Dean Lewins Slide 24, AAP Image/Dave Hunt