Citation

Tynan M. Aust. J. Anthropol. 2007; 18(3): 276-294.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Australian Anthropological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1835-9310.2007.tb00096.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article builds on our understanding of racism towards Aboriginal people in Australia through an examination of discriminatory belief structures pervasive in the mainstream community as evidenced through the important social field of country football in regional Victoria. It analyses the power and pervasiveness of the racial stereotyping that exists in some segments of the community by using Langton's (1997) notion of ‘iconic images' as well as discussing the importance of particular ideological motivations around values such as ‘egalitarianism’. This is achieved through analysing the views of players, supporters and officials of mainstream clubs towards the Aboriginal Rumbalara Football Netball Club. This analysis is structurally situated within a broader understanding of Australian national identity, in particular looking at the intersection of the powerful cultural domains of sport and evolving expressions of whiteness and egalitarianism.