Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Australian identity essay
Australian identity persuasive essay
Australian identity persuasive essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Australian identity essay
The concept of Australian identity has changed over the course of history especially since the domination of media representation in contemporary society. From the image of a bushman to a larrikin, the identity of an Australian male evolves as the society develops, but the essential core of the Australianness remains largely on the concept of masculinity and mateship. Most of the sportsmen are considered to be the representation of the larrikins, who did not adhere to polite social conventions or rules and act rough around the edges (Hogg class lecture). Australian male identity is independent, resilience to dilemmas and especially for larrikins, they do not adhere polite social conventions and rules of behaviours. Moreover, sport is the best medium for men explore and define their masculinities (Booth 1997). As a famous Australian athlete, Ian Thorpe challenges the traditional Australian identity and upgraded to a level of resilience and positive worldview in modern Australian males.
As Australia’s greatest Olympian, Ian Thorpe has won a number of national and international titles since his teenage years. He announced his retirement from the swimming field at the age of 26, as a multiple world champion winner and record breaker, Thorpe has set a fine role model and represent a strong Australian male figure in international press. Thorpe’s celebrity status as both world-renowned athlete and fashion icon has caused speculations that he might be homosexual. Despite the fact that Thorpe’s masculine physical appearance, the media still constantly portrays Thorpe’s sexual orientation based on his relationship with his male friends and his special interest in the fashion industry. Many considered Ian Thorpe’s media image does not fi...
... middle of paper ...
...rit allows him to bounce back from any setback” as an indication of toughness within an Australian male trait.
From the information has been gathered in the three articles, Thorpe’s identity as an Australian male has not only being addressed from his physical appearance but most importantly stressed on his social activities and personal experiences, which to further reflected the Australian identity within Thorpe’s inner self rather than superficial action. In conclusion, the masculinity traits embedded within Australian identity among males has been refined and developed. It requires both physical appearance and social activities to truly fit into a mediated Australian identity. The stereotype of an Australian male identity has helped to define human condition and one’s cultural identity, which could lead an influential effect on the course of media analysis.
Society has always had the idea that males should participate in masculine activities and females in feminine activities. These activities define the lifestyle that person would have. It was also believed that if a male was not involved in masculine activities, that male was not a man. Sports is a field that has been dominated by males in the past years, and more recently has had a lot of females take part in it. But does playing a sport define one’s masculinity? Michael Messner, the author of Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities, discusses the effect sports has on upcoming young men of different races. The effect of being introduced to a sport at a young age allowed males of different races to gain a sense of masculinity,
In the sports world, homosexual athletes are often forced to hide their sexual orientation and to keep it as a private matter. This is mainly due to the hegemonic masculinity associated with playing sports. Homosexuality is considered the direct opposite of this and therefore is not associated with sports. Also the way athletes talk to each other in the locker room makes it more difficult for gay athletes to come out. Guys jokingly call each other homophobic slurs or pump their chest by talking about women to express their masculinity. Female athletes, unlike their male counterparts, are considered to be more free to talk about their sexual orientation. But, there still exists the misconception that women who participate in sports are assumed to be gay. In college and professional men’s sports it is beginning to become more common for athletes to be more open to talking publically about their sexual orientation. This brings up the question as to whether or not things are changing in our society so that the acceptance of gay athletes will be more common. More acceptance by our overall society as a whole will lead to more gay athletes – both male and female – feeling free to step forward and be open about their sexual orientation.
When a person of a specific gender enters a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex, many social and moral issues will arise challenging that person involved in that particular sport. The intentions of the individual will be questioned as well as their personal interest in the sport. Before any of these questions are asked, there must be a redefinition of gender roles, femininity, and masculinity. In order for a person to enter a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex without being criticize about gender morality, society must set flexible definitions for femininity and masculinity.
In addition, sports is a common setting in which sex-segregation still exists. Many individuals reject the idea of men’s superiority, but still they find it appropriated and even necessary to portray and keep that image on sports rather than in any other institution. Historically, women were viewed as weak and fragile for athletic and physical activities especially because they were considered harmful for their reproductive health (Taniguchi & Shupe, 2012). Indeed, it is common to see more men’s teams participating in sports, but also media gives more coverage to men’s sports, use more men players for advertising and fantasy sport leagues (Love & Kelly, 2011).
Anderson, E. (2011). Masculinities and Sexualities in Sport and Physical Cultures: Three Decades of Evolving Research. Journal Of Homosexuality, 58(5), 565-578. doi:10.1080/00918369.2011.563652
Australia has always been portrayed as masculine, heterosexual, and white. For example, the national image that Australians portray are stereotyped as the ‘frontier explorer’, the ‘bushman’, the ‘larrikin’, the ‘digger’, the ‘workingman’, the ‘breadwinner’, or the ‘globetrotting business tycoon’ (Carter 14). Men represent Australia, whereas women are seen in an inferior and domestic light, for example, they are seen as mothers and housewives (Carter
The influence of sports activities on boys’ identity and socialization experience remains a major interest in gender studies today. Michael A. Messner wrote an article called Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities. The article examines the way sports focus and define what it is to be a masculine, studies variation in sports’ influences across social classes, and depicts lessons sports participation impacts for relationships beyond sports. Each area Michael A. Messner examined directly relates to three key concepts of psychology theories. The concepts consist of observational learning (social learning), conformity, and social identity. The research methods in the article are also a major factor contributing to the
Collective Identity is an individual or groups set beliefs and rituals that make up there own personal identity. It is how one can belong or feel accepted by a group or create how a person is. Indigenous people here in Australia are an example of a very strong version of collective identity. Indigenous people belong to tribes or clans, and all the separate clans have different collective identities but they are all similar in some ways. An indigenous clan that you are apart of determines on where you are born and also your language group. There are many different things that make up the aboriginal identity one of the main thing being the Dreaming, which is the creation story of the aboriginals. The originally known as the Dream Time is the
Lenskyj, H. (1998). 'Inside Sport' or 'on the margins'?: Australian women and the sport media. International Review For The Sociology Of Sport, 33(1), 19-34. doi:10.1177/101269098033001002
The increased availability of role models in the media for young LGBT people has been shown to benefit them greatly. Gomillion and Giuliano (2011) surveyed 126 Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual individuals and found that the media contributed to their coming out and identity formation by supplying LGBT role models. Furthermore, they interviewed 15 LGB people and found that these role models in the media supply self-esteem, inspiration and reassurance. Therefore, LGBT sporting role models may increase young LGBT peoples’ participation in sport because they may provide inspiration, be a source of pride and may help with coming to terms with their sexuality. However, the participants were all from Austin, Texas and both studies focused on the media in general, and did not indicate whether sport was included. Thus, the experiences of these individuals with media role models may be specific to their area and the results of this study may not indicate the influence of sporting role models in the media. Therefore, the current study will ask respondents to focus on sporting role models in the media to ascertain whether a similar result is
There are many repercussions that are projected upon both men and women when they enter into a sport that typically isn’t thought of as gender appropriate. Some of those cultural and social stigmatisms may be abandonment by your peers, and friends questions regarding your sexuality, and even in some cases criticism as to how you are living your life. In some cases, it may lead to you not being accepted by either group, theone whose norems you are not following, of as well as the one with whom you are trying to get involved. This paper will address all of these issues and how these seemingly negative situations can, will, and are, leading to growth. It will also discuss how this is a situation where repercussions are not just in the sports arena, but is prevalent in everyday life, in areas far beyond that of sport.
Whether its baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or tennis, sports is seen all over the world as a representation of one’s pride for their city, country, and even continent. Sports is something that is valued world-wide which has the ability to bring communities together and create different meanings, beliefs and practices between individuals. Although many people may perceive sports to have a significant meaning within our lives, it can also have the ability to separate people through gender inequalities which can also be represented negatively throughout the media. This essay will attempt to prove how gender is constructed in the sports culture while focusing on female athletes and their acceptance in today’s society.
Gender is a social construct rather than biologically given that outlines the behaviours, roles, activities and attributes that a particular society agrees to be appropriate for men and women. The assignment of these roles and traits can create gender equities — the division of gender and favouring one group more than the other. Since gender hugely influences the foundation of our behaviours, characteristics, activities and roles, it can be concluded that everything people do, own or even think is systematically categorised into men and women. One of the areas that social constructions of masculinity and femininity play a significant role is sport. David Rowe has stated that “since the institutional establishment of sport as a regulated, professionalized
5. Handler, Timothy. “The Structuring of Manliness and the Development of Rugby Football at the Public Schools of Oxbridge: 1830-1880,” in Making Men: Rugby and Masculine Identity, ed. John Nauright and Timothy John Lindsay Chandler (Psychology Press, 1996), 13-21.
Sigmund Freud’s theory of masculinity lies with the presence of male genetalia and a concept that ‘anatomy is destiny’ (2013), leading to a biological determinism theory and this theory has been supported by Talcott Parsons (2013), a functionalist theorist. Parsons believes that alongside the natural element of gender identities, males and females have scripts attached to their sexes and that these scripts are learnt through appropriate socialisation. Parsons believes masculine roles are influenced onto boys through positive persuasive language for example ‘what a big strong boy you are’ (Bown, 2013). Raewyn Connell (2002) explains that typically boys are not expected or taught to take care of their appearance; however toughness and control are encouraged to be primary personality traits. Boys are enticed into competitive sports like football and basketball by a minimum of both school and media, with the promise of gai...