Culturescope Volume 115

CultureScope Volume 115

The Journal of the Society and Culture Association

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 1 2019 Committee

President Emma Davidge Charlton Christian College

Vice President Louise Dark Newcastle High School

Treasurer Julian Floriano The Forrest High School

Secretary Kristy Dawkins Gymea Technology High School

Committee members Steven Baker St Ursula’s College, Kingsgrove Kendra Bruseker Oakhill College Emily Grant Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College Maxine Johnson Gosford High School Marshall Leaver Educational Consultant Amanda Newell Clancy Catholic College Catriona McDonald Mercy College, Chatswood Amanda Webb Moorebank High School

Cover image: Society and Culture Award Recipients 2018, State Library of NSW, 22/02/19.

ISSN 1323-191X

While every care has been taken to trace and acknowledge copyright, the publishers tender their apologies for any accidental infringement where copyright has proved untraceable. The Association would be pleased to come to a suitable arrangement if such a case arose. It is the responsibility of the author of any article, support document, etc. submitted for publication in this journal to prove copyright clearance of materials included within the submission; otherwise, said material will be deleted from the publication.

Material may be used for classroom use only, unless permission is granted by the Editor. The copyright of individual authors remains with the author. If inadvertently we have breached copyright, we apologise. Society and Culture Association of NSW, Copyright © 2019.

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 2 Volume 115 A note from the editor

Welcome to the first edition of CultureScope for 2019. Volume 115 aims to publicly recognise and celebrate the 2018 Society and Culture Award Winners for both the HSC Exam and Personal Interest Project.

We are once again proud to feature 500 word PIP extracts from all of the High Distinction Award Recipients. These extracts can be used by current and future students and teachers to deconstruct the diverse characteristics of high quality PIPs. Aunty Pippa has also made a contribution to this edition with responses to her most frequently asked student questions.

This edition would not have been possible without the voluntary contributions of many. A special thank you to Mr Marshall Leaver for his coordination of the collection of award winning PIP extracts and his wonderful role as MC during the awards evening. Also, a hug thank you to Mr Matt Leaver from Matt Leaver Photography for capturing all of the very special moments for award winners and their families on the night. These professional images are a beautiful visual record of such a joyful occasion for students, teachers and our broader professional community of Society and Culture. A huge thank you to the Society and Culture Committee for all of their efforts in the preparation of awards materials.

This journal is not possible without the contributions of teachers.

CultureScope is also seeking contributions for publication. We welcome a variety of classroom activities, articles, assessment tasks, programs and teacher reflections.

For each submission please ensure you: • Identify the syllabus dot-point/focus area (if relevant) • Ensure references are used throughout • Give a brief overview of why it has worked well in your class (teacher rationale) • If it is an assessment task, please provide a marking guideline/suggested answers OR student samples (with permission) • Be aware we may need to change pictures/text layout • Email attachment to [email protected] with the subject ‘CultureScope submission’ • Provide your name, address and school details within the email

Benefits: You will be paid $$$$ for your submission. For new-scheme teachers, a published journal article counts for 2 hours (Teacher Identified) – A letter recognising your contribution can be emailed on request.

Any other suggestions for resources in future editions are welcome.

Warm regards,

Amanda Newell (CultureScope Editor)

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 3 Society and Culture Award Winners | 2018 HSC Awards

Top Ten Examination Results for 2018

Place Student School

1st and the Zoe Mitchell Central Coast Grammar School Professor Sol Encel Award 2nd Chrysanthi Diasinos Blakehurst High School

3rd Marko Beocanin Normanhurst Boys High School 4th Tieki Woonton Kariong Mountains High School

5th Elena Khoury Central Coast Grammar School

6th Isabella Katsiris Menai High School

7th Emelia Corlett Central Coast Grammar School

Equal 8th Keziah Ariella Hendra Glenwood High School

Equal 8th Lucinda Nadine Leten Mulwaree High School Equal10th Chelsey-Lee Ortega Clancy Catholic College

Equal 10th Zane Mestousis Marsden High School

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 4 Society and Culture Award Winners | 2018 HSC Awards

High Distinction For the Personal Interest Project 2018

Student School PIP Title

Helen Kalou Westfields Sports HS Racism is just a Pigment of your imagination Dr Peg White Award

Jackson Smith Engadine HS ‘Grab em’ by the balls’

Aurelia Winzenberg Willoughby GHS The Class Ceiling

Isabel Carter Willoughby GHS Tourism on the boarder of authenticity

Holly Braico Willoughby GHS Killing Me Softly

Samruddhi Kamane Moorebank HS Bleach it Don’t Preach it

Jordyn Hicks Willoughby GHS Government and Indigenous Australians

Isabella Katsiris Menai HS Like a girl

Karera Layla Aoki Willoughby GHS The Yaoi Mystique

Kathryn Victoria Macarthur Anglican School Oh My COD! Racism Remastered Jarrett Keane Cobbitty

Chelsey-Lee Ortega Clancy Catholic College One Small step For Woman, One Giant Leap for Mankind

Isobel Rose Carr Lambton HS Damsels in Democratic Distress

Kasturi PK Kunalan North Sydney GHS Handcuffed

Max Goring Central Coast Grammar AKRASIA

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 5 Society and Culture Award Winners | 2018 HSC Awards

Distinction ForDistinction the Personal Interest Project 2018 For the Personal Interest Project 2017 Student School PIP Title

Vivien Janitz Willoughby GHS Us vs Them

Isabella Cavanagh Willoughby GHS For those who have come across the seas

Isabelle Robertson Turramurra HS Green is the new black ?

Josephine Maltese Willoughby GHS Western Media constructions of Asian ethnic identities

Alexandra Crowhurst Willoughby GHS Rapping Up Rap

Lambton HS Surname: To change or not to change? That is the question. Rahni Stuart-Crone

Clancy Catholic College It’s Good to be Bad!

\Brooke Harris

Harrison John Inshaw Castle Hill HS AFL and Indigenous Australians

Elizabeth Macarthur HS It does matter if you are black or white

Mona Anne Ryan

Chrysanthi Diasinos Blakehurst HS Cultural preservation in a post-genocide Diaspora

Aleisha Hyslop Willoughby GHS The Toxic Workplace

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 6 Society and Culture Award Winners | 2018 HSC Awards

President’s Speech, Mrs Emma Davidge Society and Culture Awards Evening

Good evening distinguished guests, teachers, parents and award recipients.

I feel incredibly humbled to be here tonight, is a great honour to be among the top achieving students, their parents and of “ I think it is safe to say cause, their teachers. I think it is safe to say that we should be that we should be comforted knowing that the next generation of leaders are comforted knowing that the broad minded global citizens. next generation of leaders are broad minded Tonight I would like to talk to you about the importance of our global citizens.” course Society and Culture and I wish to highlight the skills and strategies that a student who studies our course will graduate with. In August 2018 Misha Ketschell – the editor of the Conversation – an independent online media outlet shared his knowledge on what he terms a “media beat up”. Misha shared his research and interpretation of the so called African gangs that were terrorizing the streets of Melbourne. For the mainstream news outlets this was topical, it made for great headlines, it grabbed social attention and it became the headline for a number of political policies.

Misha shared how this “beat up” would play out….. The media outlets grab hold of a story and push it to consumers, consumers panic and insight fear in members of the community by sharing deep concern, individuals and groups seek solace and refuge in those with power. Political parties gain votes based on scare mongering and intimidation which is driven by the media coverage and before we know it another minority group is alienated and left hurting from something that started as a ripple in the reservoir of media headlines. The lightbulb moment for me was when Misha reminded a room full of Society and Culture teachers that we can stop this perpetuation.

Our course, the one that we are so passionate about, has the potential to shape and mold the decisions of the newest adults and voters in our society. It is a course that explicitly teachers critical thinking skills. The objectives of this course are to study other cultures and ways of doing things, what we find is that graduates leave with much more than this knowledge; They are

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 7 Society and Culture Award Winners | 2018 HSC Awards informed and responsible, they have a better understanding of a just society and they have intercultural understanding; students are active citizens, they can research ethically, and have established the desire to be lifelong learners. This is known as Social Literacy… To be a socially literate member of society means we are considerate of others, we critically approach our consumption of the media and we are slow to pass assumptions on. We are aware of how our actions may impact others and we are tolerant of “As our 2018 Award others with differing views. ‘Social and Cultural literacy provides recipients leave this room tonight – know us with a framework for understanding the diversity and disparity that the world is a of human existence. The modern world is marked by inequalities; better place with you in it, share your the minority possess the majority of resources (R Yadav)’. And knowledge, teach with that I feel that the society and Culture Course has an integral social literacy to those you come in contact role to play in shaping the next generations. with and remain advocates for those who have little.” I’m proud to lead the Society and Culture Association, a committee of passionate volunteers who are fully committed to ensuring the course remains resourced. We have no fear of its relevance, in fact this course may be the most socially relevant course you study. As our 2018 Award recipients leave this room tonight – know that the world is a better place with you in it, share your knowledge, teach social literacy to those you come in contact with and remain advocates for those who have little. Thank you for leading the next generation of critical thinkers.

Good night.

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 8 Speech on Behalf of Award Recipients Helen Kalou, Graduate of Westfields Sports High School

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am so thrilled to be here at the Society and Culture Awards Ceremony. Tonight, we will be congratulating and acknowledging the Award recipients on their hard work and successes. Some of us have come from across Sydney and beyond to receive these awards to be here tonight and I am sure my fellow recipients are as thrilled as I am to be acknowledged on our hard work. I hope you enjoy this ceremony.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the teachers who have supported us and reassured us during Year 12 and through all our years of schooling. The sleep deprived nights, and the constant sense of challenge all seems worth it looking back as our achievements are acknowledged. This is a product of our teacher’s and our school community’s commitment to us and our education and on behalf of all the Award recipients here tonight, we say a heart-felt thank you. And to Ms. Padovan, a very personal thank you from me.

We would also like to thank our families who know from experience that last year was a demanding one but they were always there to talk to us and made every effort to relieve us of some of the challenges. Personally, I’d like to thank my parents for being huge support systems during the HSC. Your constant reassurance and encouragement didn’t go unnoticed. The daily hugs and late night chats were what truly kept me going.

Thank you to the Society and Culture Association for acknowledging the excellence in Society and Culture over so many years and for organising this event. Society and culture as a course has a contemporary focus and what makes it different from the rest as it is relevance not only to the life of young people but to every single member of society. It influences and relates to our personal experiences and made us think clearly about what our future holds and was one of the many reasons I resonated with the course so well.

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 9 Finally, we would like to thank the State Library for this venue to support these Awards being given to the High Distinction PIPs and the Top 10 students in the State. We would also like to thank the State Library for the access to resources which supported achieving excellence in our research and writing for our PIPs.

Society and Culture as a course was an exciting one as I was constantly learning new ideas and ways of thinking. The Personal Interest Project was my only major work and therefore, a lot of time was spent researching, analysing data, citing information and thinking deeply about what I had studied. By the end of July when I had finished my PIP, I felt as though my mind had matured and I felt the PIP also developed my emotional growth.

Society and Culture and the PIP specifically opened my eyes to the discrimination evident in two significant Western countries; Australia and the United States and the role the media plays in pushing history to repeat itself. With a negative history comes a minimisation of progress. Learning more about such a controversial topic was exciting and interesting as I constantly attempted to view things from all angles. That was a challenge however, in the end I gained an insight into how white privilege and racial profiling go hand-in-hand and how history and the media interconnect to express the presence of white privilege. Over time racism became systematically embedded into western culture and unintentional white privilege became part of history that undoubtedly moulded racial oppression. However, we can be the voice of change and express how these systematic forms of oppression on both micro and macro levels are to be eliminated. Accepting and identifying white privilege and researching its rise in the western world was a major learning point in the society and culture course. Allowing others to see this injustice will allow for social growth and minimise the disparity between minority groups and those holding more power. Maturity and sympathy are aspects of this experience I have tapped into as I developed and enhanced my social and cultural literacy in the process and I hope in the future others will too. Attempts to minimise marginalisation of POC and minority groups can be done effectively by understanding and accepting the presence of white privilege and educating the youth. In doing so, issues of hyper-incarceration, police brutality and lack of access to socially valued resources for minority groups can be reduced and in turn lead to a better society for all. I’m sure I speak for us all in that we were able to find our voice, find where our passions are set due to the society and culture course and how post-HSC we can make a mark in this world.

Thank you again and enjoy this celebration of achievement by so many here tonight.

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 10 Helen Kalou, Westfield Sports High School: Racism is just a Pigment of your imagination

Racism is just a PIGMENT of your imagination

An investigation into how racial profiling stems from white privilege and its impact on social norms

1 Mejia, L. (2016). We Must All Talk About White Privilege. [online] POPSUGAR News. Available at:https://www.popsugar.com/news/What-White- Privilege-40523831 [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].

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Helen Kalou, Westfield Sports High School: Racism is just a Pigment of your imagination

Introduction

As an Australian born Assyrian growing up in South-West Sydney I recognised my ethnic community face discrimination by large institutions. Observing communities on the meso level being racially profiled led me to investigate the role of white privilege and its impact on shaping socially constructed behaviour. After viewing the racial injustice within the United States (U.S.) through social media, I questioned if it was apparent in Australia concerning the treatment of our Indigenous population. My PIP addresses racial injustices and identifies the racism that is holistically embedded in western societies.2 Reading stories in the media I recognised the inequality within the U.S. and I began to question whether the racial norms constructed resulted from the media, and if these same discriminatory norms existed in Australian society in relation to our Indigenous communities through cultural relativism.

My central hypothesis addresses how racial profiling stems from white privilege and therefore, leads to the construction of social norms practised in society. I attempted to prove that this inequality is systematically embedded in the governmental institutions.

Content analysis was used to analyse how news articles express white privilege through article names, differing bias and images communicating subtle prejudiced undertones. My content analysis and questionnaire reached a wide sample size gaining varying opinions into privilege, implicit bias and colour-blind racism.3 To support my primary research, secondary research and statistical data were used through the analysis of case studies. These case studies allowed me to gain a contemporary understanding of widespread ideas.

As an Australian, investigating the discrimination against the Indigenous population allowed me to empathise with this issue and therefore, gained an understanding of the discrimination within my macro world. Using case studies, I addressed history’s role in shaping today’s social norms, the implicit bias that encourages white privilege within the media, and the

2 Philosophytalk.org. (2017). White Privilege and Racial Injustice | Philosophy Talk. [online] Available at: https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/white-privilege-and-racial-injustice [Accessed 25 Oct. 2017]. 3 Feagin, J. and O'Brien, E. (2004). White Men on Race. Boston: Beacon Press. Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 12

Helen Kalou, Westfield Sports High School: Racism is just a Pigment of your imagination

negative impact on institutions. This illustrates a sense of continuity and change as the historical background has resulted in the cycle of white privilege to continue.

The idea that history repeats itself is prevalent amongst racial injustices and with a negative history comes a minimisation of progress. However, as individuals develop an awareness towards these racial issues, change can gradually occur as a result. Through the examination of case studies and the clear double standard when comparing instances between white individuals and People of Colour (POC), one can recognise the piercing inequality within society.

This process presented prospects in furthering my understanding of the repression of minorities and how this is heightened by racial profiling within Australia and the US. White privilege is a term usually associated with false beliefs and ignorance, however, my PIP aimed to address the truth behind this expression. My PIP journey enhanced my investigative skills and social-cultural literacy as I now understand how POC face discrimination in supposed forward-thinking and unprejudiced societies.

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 13 Jackson Smith, Engadine High School: ‘Grab em’ by the balls’

Extract Central Material: ‘F’ Word for Boys & Men

What I discovered was the emergence of a problem when we neutralise the language used to define and express feminist values, which I initially thought would offer up a practical solution. The extent of my male small-group interviewees’ understanding of feminism was “equality among the genders” and “things being equal”1. At first, I assumed that this basic understanding was enough for boys to engage meaningfully with the movement’s worldviews. In my interview with Howard, however, an important barrier to this engagement emerged. When asked about what holds many boys and young men back from identifying as feminist, or identifying with feminist values, Howard explained, “I think a lot of boys see feminism in a reductive way as being about equality between the sexes, but there’s much more to it than this. The inequality that exists today is complex, and sometimes hard to see”2. As well as this, when the average adolescent male in our society looks around him, he often already sees equality between the sexes. This would explain why one of my small-group interviewees put forward the view that “we’re already equal, we all receive education and have the same opportunities”3. When we correlate this kind of misinformed attitude with the statistic that 75% of questionnaire respondents4 selected a definition for feminism centred around ‘equality’, then a clear disconnect emerges in terms of how some boys and young men perceive the status of girls and women in society, and the perceived value of feminism in relation to this skewed perception.

Kat Banyard refers to an “illusion” of gender equality in our contemporary society5. This illusion of equality having been achieved between the sexes, she says, is why feminism has been “chased from the mainstream”6. Banyard’s view goes a significant way to explaining the opposition that exists to feminist discourse and action among my peers. In our interview, Howard provided evidence that corroborates this notion of an ‘equality illusion’ when he described how “a lot of guys I know, especially younger people, just refuse to accept that the wage gap exists. They see equality in their meso world, or what they think is equality, or they read an anti-feminist blog online,

1 Male small-group interview participant, May, 2018. 2 Interview, adult male, White Ribbon Ambassador, March, 2018. 3 Male small-group interview participant, May, 2018. 4 Questionnaire, October, 2017. 5 Banyard, K. (2010). Equality illusion - the truth about women and men today. London: Faber and Faber Limited, p.2. 6 Ibid. Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 14

Jackson Smith, Engadine High School: ‘Grab em’ by the balls’

and they see that as being the broader reality”7. Despite what I would have thought are the empowering influences of school, media and globalisation in positioning young people to see and understand the prejudice and exclusion that exists for girls and women in our society today, my research indicates that an ‘equality illusion’ is indeed at work in society, and its trickery is having traction.

Turner explains the Conflict Theory by highlighting Marx’s emphasis on the way in which “deprived groups” take up a collective stance of “opposition” to “superordinates”, which results in a “polarisation” of interests and goals8. It appears that the central challenge for the feminist movement’s inclusion of boys and men, however, lies in how men are mistakenly identifying as a ‘deprived group’ in relation to feminism’s perceived “preferential treatment”9 of girls and women, which is creating a kind of ‘false’ ideological conflict.

7 Interview, adult male, White Ribbon Ambassador, March, 2018. 8 H. Turner, J. (n.d.). Contemporary Sociological Theory. 9 Attribute to the adolescent male small-group interview Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 15

Aurelia Winzenberg, Willoughby Girls High School: The Class Ceiling

Extract Chapter 1

Australian culture is perceived and celebrated as being built on the harmonious foundations of mateship and multiculturalism. However, the generational socio-economic inequality and disadvantage of minority groups that occurs strips away this ethos. 2011-12 ABS data suggest that around 2.6 million (11.8 per cent) Australians live under the poverty line32, ‘a disproportionate number being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, recent immigrants and refugees’33. Thus, the racial based characteristics of lower socio-economic classes contradict Australia’s egalitarian reputation. Socio-economic class is a ‘hierarchal and multi- dimensional system comprising a range of factors encompassing economic resources, power and/or prestige’34. Hence, socio-economic class is determined through the social and economic assets attained. Due to Australia’s western values, diverse cultures and skills are stagnated within the lower sectors of Australia’s social stratification; ‘the historical and current social, political, and cultural processes that result in a society's hierarchy of groups’35. Thus, resulting in the creation of non-western racial and cultural groups with socio-economic disadvantage. This chapter will investigate socio-economic disadvantage for Australia’s underclasses and the lack of resources and opportunities they encounter to foster a quality of life.

The widening divide in Australia between classes manufactures an increased intensity of socio- economic inequality. Socio-economic inequality is intensely present in Australia’s Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander population. Currently, ‘Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Australians make up a large percentage of Australia’s lowest socio-economic groups compared to white Australian who make up a large percentage of the highest’ 36. This statistic is supported in my questionnaire37 as the two Indigenous respondents identified as coming from a lower class. However, this is a small pool of respondents and 39% of respondents were uncertain about their class standing, limiting the reliability of this source. Furthermore, Australia’s social stratification throughout history has reflected the oppression of Indigenous Australians in society. The beginnings of social stratification concerning race in Australia can be dated back to the 1788 invasion of Europeans in Indigenous Australia, where the ‘categorization of social groups into races has reflected oppression, exploitation and social inequality’38. This reality is closely linked with theorist Karl Marx and his theory of Class Struggle39. He determines; ‘individuals and groups (social classes) within society interact based on conflict rather than consensus…More powerful groups will tend to use their power to retain power and exploit groups with less

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Aurelia Winzenberg, Willoughby Girls High School: The Class Ceiling

power.’40. This theory’s validity in Australian Society is strengthened through my focus group as all four participants agreed with its existence in their personal experiences. However, as all participants resided in the same geographic region, the focus group is skewered to revealing a one-dimensional perspective that cannot account for the entire nation. The segregation of Indigenous Australians into the lowest socio-economic class combined with stolen generations, discrimination and removal from land, culture and heritage catalysed the generational cycle of poverty of this group into the contemporary world. In my questionnaire41, the same two indigenous respondents identifying as lower class, scored the lowest records of housing and health quality. This is problematic as poor housing and health have larger implications for one’s ability to become socially mobile and attain economic stability.

32 Phillips, B., Miranti, R., Vidyattama, Y. and Cassells, R. (2013). Poverty, Social Exclusion and Disadvantage in Australia. [online] Natsem.canberra.edu.au. Available at: http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/storage/Poverty-Social-Exclusion-and- Disadvantage.pdf [Accessed 6 May 2018]. 33Betsy Leondar-Wright, (2014). Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press/Cornell University Press 34 Braveman, PA. Cubbin, C, Egerter, S. Chideya, S. Marchi, KS. Metzler, M. Posner, S. (2005). Socioeconomic status in health research: one size does not fit all. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16352796 [Accessed 13 May 2018]. 35 RS, C. (2001). Social inequality, ethnicity and cardiovascular disease. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11759851 [Accessed 13 May 2018]. 36 Australianstogether.org.au. (2018). Australians Together | Indigenous disadvantage in Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.australianstogether.org.au/discover/the-wound/indigenous-disadvantage-in-australia. [Accessed 20 May 2018]. 37 Questionnaire, See Appendix A 38 American Sociological Association. (2003) The Importance of Collecting Data and Doing Social Scientific Research on Race. Washington, D.C: American Sociological Association. 39 Slaughter, C. (1975). Marxism & the Class Struggle. [online] Marxists.org. Available at: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/en/slaughte.htm [Accessed 13 May 2018]. 40 Ibid. 41 Questionnaire, See Appendix A 42 Ausstats.abs.gov.au. (2011). Measures of Socioeconomic Status. [online] Available at: http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/367D3800605DB064CA2578B60013445C/$File/1244 055001_2011.pdf [Accessed 13 May 2018].

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Aurelia Winzenberg, Willoughby Girls High School: The Class Ceiling

Extract Chapter 1

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 18

Aurelia Winzenberg, Willoughby Girls High School: The Class Ceiling

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Isabel Carter, Willoughby Girls High School: Tourism on the boarder of authenticity authenticity "Tourism in an attempt to foster cultural interactions has been refined to assert westernised cultural norms, showing that “ the search for authenticity has too many contradictions embedded … making it nearly impossible to attain”. My inspiration for this Personal Interest Project was drawn from my experiences of extensive travel to areas of the USA, Europe and the South Pacific which have shown vast cultural similarities, despite being geographically distanced. This is integral as it suggests western cultural diffusion which has allowed the values and traditions in terms of western culture to spread between distinctly different ethnic cultures. Cultural diffusion has thus highlighted how adaptations of the developing world due to tourism have influenced the way that diverse cultures operate and individuals perceive culture outside of their micro and mesosphere.

In this sense, tourism has allowed western cultures to create a normative tourist culture where to Westerners a “staged event may seem perfectly genuine”[1]. The creation of tourist hotspots as an adaptation of authentic culture is commonly seen in backpacking, as backpacking has allowed for a mass influx of travellers to remote areas, allowing the tourism industry to profit from the constructed culturally immersive experiences which backpackers desire. Therefore, this chapter will explore how the stereotypes displayed by backpackers can have a negative impact on host cultures and in the macro sphere, thus suggesting the distant relationship between backpackers and the authenticity of host cultures.

The notion of organized tourism has created a distinct divide between volunteers and host countries, leading to superficial engagement which limits the effectiveness of their volunteering aims. The manipulation of the tourism industry has allowed Voluntourism to become advertised as a way to “change systems, alleviate poverty or provide support for vulnerable children”[1] in the developing world. However, the highly organized nature of the Voluntourism industry “leads to superficial engagement for volunteers”[2] which reinstates the construct of the developing world as helpless where the terms ‘Third World’[3] and suffering are synonymous. Therefore “volunteers are led to imagine that their engagement directly addresses this suffering”[4] when in reality it has a negative impact on the cultural continuity of host cultures and further increases cultural segregation. It is evident that Voluntourists thrive on giving to people which they deem as willing, deserving or in need, and due to a lack of cultural understanding, Westerners believe that the developing world cannot support itself.

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Isabel Carter, Willoughby Girls High School: Tourism on the boarder of authenticity authenticityThe tourism industry has had a highly significant impact on the creation and development of the preconceived notion that western travel and culture is the norm. The effect of the changing socioeconomic background of tourists and their motivation for travel, as well as the continuity of tourism as a valuable intercultural experience in the macro sphere, is reflected through the cross- cultural perspective of ethnicity. Thus, the representation of ethnicity through tourism has shown that a homogenization of western culture has ultimately oppressed the cultural continuities and diverse values and traditions of cultures in the developing world."

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Holly Braico, Willoughby Girls High School: Killing Me Softly

Introduction

"We are made numb in pop culture to female bodies remaining background to male-centred action.”1

The feminine, which can be defined as “characteristics encompassing traits, appearances, interests, and behaviours that have traditionally been considered relatively more typical of women,”2 have been continually distorted and associated with complacency in western society, due to macro agents of socialisation. The recent controversy over sexual harassment evident in the #MeToo campaign highlights the “toxic environment for women”3 in media, as females struggle to gain a sense of control amidst damaging gender norms. One prominent agent of socialisation is film, which “represents and reproduces”4 cultural beliefs and values relating to the feminine. This particular facet of media has proven damaging in its tokenistic portrayals of women, as passive figures who simply “react to the men around them,”5 as they are often subjected to “brutalisation” and “sexualised violence”6. Such representation is therefore an example of how femininity is punished in this macro agent of society.

Thus, my hypothesis states, “Western filmic discourse increasingly punishes femininity and represents the feminine as passive and tokenistic.” The aim of this study will be to investigate feminine representation in contemporary film, discerning negative depictions of “somewhat disposable”7 females. This topic will also examine the lack of developed female characters. Such depictions feed into harmful social constructs which limit realistic depictions of female identity, through “reinforcing and illustrating the systemic problems faced by women”8.

1 Malik, S. (2018). 'Headless women' project highlights gross sexism in movie posters. [online] Topics. Available at: https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2018/03/15/headless-women-project-highlights-gross-sexism-movie-posters [Accessed 28 Apr. 2018]. 2 Kachel, S., Steffens, M. and Niedlich, C. (2016). Traditional Masculinity and Femininity: Validation of a New Scale Assessing Gender Roles. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, pp. 4. 3 Twohey, J. (2017). Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/ us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018]. 4 Smelik, A. (2016). “Feminist Film Theory” in: The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies 2017/071 Volume 5, pg. 1-2. [Accessed 12 March 2018]. 5 Mumford, G. (2017). Jessica Chastain: the portrayal of women in films is disturbing. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/30/jessica-chastain-women-cannes-disturbing-palme-dor [Accessed 24 Apr. 2018]. 6 Rickey, C. and (2013). Brutalization of women is a constant in popular film. [online] Variety. Available at: http://variety.com/2013/voices/opinion/brutalization-of-women-is-a-constant-in-popular-film-2654/ [Accessed 24 Apr. 2018]. 7 Neuendorf, K., Gore, T., Dalessandro, A., Janstova, P. and Snyder-Suhy, S. (2009). Shaken and Stirred: A Content Analysis of Women’s Portrayals in James Bond Films. Sex Roles, 62(11-12), pp.747-761.

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Holly Braico, Willoughby Girls High School: Killing Me Softly

Secondary research was employed to investigate the representation of femininity in film, for example the punishment women of the James Bond series are exposed to, as explored in Kimberly A. Neuendorf’s 2009 article Shaken and stirred: A content analysis of women's portrayals in James Bond films9. Additional articles explored the erasure of female characters in films, as in Marianne Kac-Vergne’s 2016 article on recent science fiction blockbusters, Sidelining Women in Contemporary Science-Fiction Film, exploring how “women play minor characters who never appear onscreen without their male companions”10.

Primary research included an online questionnaire11, completed by 102 participants. Further data was collected through a content analysis12, deconstructing and comparing Ridley Scott’s 1982 film, Blade Runner and its current sequel, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017). This method, however, only reflected a narrow sample space. Additionally, an interview conducted via email with British journalist, filmmaker and broadcaster Bidisha SK Mamata,13 professionally known as Bidisha, provided greater insight into femininity in media. A second interview conducted with animator John Henderson,14 provided thoughtful insight and perspectives from someone employed in the film industry.

The cross cultural component of gender will be examined through deconstructing how the macro socialisation agency of media has seen an increase in toxic portrayals of femininity over time, perpetuating narrow gender norms. This topic is relevant to the course as it explores how femininity is punished within patriarchal western societies, and how women often experience social exclusion due to cultural beliefs viewing the feminine as passive, which are reflected and perpetuated through the technology of film.

15 “The man controls the film phantasy and also emerges as the representative of power.”

8 Neuendorf, K., Gore, T., Dalessandro, A., Janstova, P. and Snyder-Suhy, S. (2009). Shaken and Stirred: A Content Analysis of Women’s Portrayals in James Bond Films. Sex Roles, 62(11-12), pp.747-761. [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018]. 9 Kac-Vergne, M. (2016). Sidelining Women in Contemporary Science-Fiction Film. Miranda, (12). 10 Questionnaire, See Appendix A 11 Content Analysis, See Appendix B 12 Interview 1, See Appendic C 13 Interview 2, See Appendix D. 14 Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual and Other Pleasures. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.14-26.

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Samruddhi Kamane, Moorebank High School: Bleach it Don’t Preach

It Extract Chapter 2

On the contrary, the notion of a darker or tanned skin tone being desirable is commercialised in western societies by celebrities in the media in Australia. Public figures and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian are key figures within the western media who influence the construction of beauty and contribute to the idea that having a tanned complexion is inherently linked to beauty, wealth and success. According to Grace Jones, “Kim Kardashian is a basic commercial product” whose popularity can successfully engineer profits with any product. This is shown through the Kardashian Glow tanning products. Hence to achieve the success of their tanning product, the Kardashian body is shifted and “tugged into some kind of interracial fusion (Caucasian features but tanned skin)” is something Alexandra Sastre mentions in her report. Given that the Kardashian skin is white, and their features are coded equivocally ethnic, Kim Kardashian is afforded a range of racial mobility that black celebrities have due to having a tanned complexion. Since Kim Kardashian is a known as a successful high-profile celebrity in the social nexus of Hollywood, it fosters the idea to the general demographic of Western society that a tanned or darker complexion is associated with a leisurely lifestyle and in turn beauty, success and wealth. With “toffee- coloured skin” artists such as Jessica Alba, Beyoncé, Halle Berry and tanning models such as Victoria Beckham being the forefront definitions of 21st century beauty1, the idea that tanned skin equates to beauty, wealth and success as a result of their high status as celebrities is garnered and spread amongst the demographic. Much like how Kim’s popularity provides the illusion to the audience of Australia, a content analysis of travel flights such as JetStar mirrored the aforementioned trend of tanned skin being associated with leisure, wealth and beauty. The JetStar advert showcased flight deals to exotic locations like Bali, with the predominant figure being a woman in her 20’s with golden, sun kissed skin tan and blonde hair, creating the idea that such features are indeed considered exotic and thus are related to beauty and wealth2.

1 Wilkinson, S. (2018). A short history of tanning | Sophie Wilkinson. [online] The Guardian. 2 Content Analysis - “JetStar advertisement pamphlets” - 6 different travel agencies

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Samruddhi Kamane, Moorebank High School: Bleach it Don’t Preach

It One-hundred percent of the (6/6) advertisements analysed as primary research presented these culturally constructed standards of beauty presenting no racial dubiety in what is considered to be desirable in Australia. Hence these media platforms helped articulate and spread the idea that the commodification of the tanned skin tone has been propagated in western society such as America due to these celebrities, and due to globalisation such attributes has infiltrated Australian societies as well. This when triangulated with an interview of a participant of Anglo Saxon ethnicity revealed that “the way in which the media represents this tanned skin now is absolutely derogatory, by showcasing tall, skinny girls with exuberant tanned skin it creates the image that this is what all Australians look like”.

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 25

Jordyn Hicks, Willoughby Girls High School: Government and Indigenous Australians

Introduction

“The representation of all of us is diminished while Indigenous Australians remain under represented in our institutions of government” 1

Exclusionary values upheld in Australian Government continue to unjustly prohibit the participation of minority population groups. Indigenous people “are among the most socially excluded in Australia”2 with only 2.2% of Federal parliament comprised of Aboriginal’s. Additionally, Aboriginal culture and values, “can be hard for non-Indigenous people to understand”3 but are critical for creating socially inclusive policy. This exclusion from parliament is largely as a result of a “cultural and ethnic default in leadership”4 and exclusionary values held by Australian parliament. Furthermore, Indigenous values of autonomy, community and respect for elders is not supported by the current structure of government.

Consequently, my hypothesis states that ‘The divide between Indigenous Australian culture and Australian Western parliamentary values exacerbates the social exclusion of Indigenous peoples.’ Thus, the aim of my research is to examine the extent and identify explanations for Indigenous people being “poorly represented – or not represented at all”5 in macro level government institutions in comparison to the Caucasian population. Hence, my cross-cultural component is ethnicity, which allows for an evaluation of the contrast between Western Parliamentary values that reflect the interests of Australia’s Caucasian population, and the extent of acceptance of Indigenous cultural values in Australian Parliament. Additionally, investigating the effects of, “long- term and continuing racial discrimination”6 of Aboriginals due to the exclusionary values that continue to exist in government.

1 Maddison, S. (2010). White Parliament, Black Politics: The Dilemmas of Indigenous Parliamentary Representation. Australian Journal of Political Science, 45(4), p.663-680 [Accessed 29 Jan. 2018]. 2 Hunter, B. (2009) “Family Matters.” Indigenous Social Exclusion, vol. 29, p. 52. EBSCO 3 Unknown. “Our Shared History | Sections.” Share Our Pride, Reconciliation Australia, www.shareourpride.org.au/sections/our- shared-history/. [accessed 8 May 2018] 4 Davey, Melissa (2016). “Australia's Leaders Are Still Mainly Anglo-Celtic, Report Finds.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jul/29/australias-leaders-are-still-mainly-anglo-celtic-report-finds. 5 Maddison, S. (2010). White Parliament, Black Politics: The Dilemmas of Indigenous Parliamentary Representation. Australian Journal of Political Science, 45(4), p.663-680 [Accessed 29 Jan. 2018]. 6 Human Rights Law Centre. (2018). Racism in Australia to be scrutinised on the world stage. [online] Available at: https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2017/11/20/racism-in-australia-to-be-scrutinised-on-the-world-stage [Accessed 29 Jan. 2018]. Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 26

Jordyn Hicks, Willoughby Girls High School: Government and Indigenous Australians

Secondary research was undertaken to examine the prolonged effects of discrimination towards Indigenous people in parliament over time. This was explored in the article White Parliament, Black Politics; the Dilemmas of Indigenous Parliamentary Representation by Sarah Maddison7. The journal article Indigenous Politics by Will Sanders was also used to determine possible explanations for the lack of Indigenous representation in Government due to the incompatibility of Parliamentary values and Indigenous culture.

Primary research was conducted including an open and closed ended questionnaire,8 which gathered qualitative and quantitative data from 103 respondents. A focus group9 gathering qualitative data was also conducted with Aboriginal people, which demonstrated explanations and the extent of their social exclusion. Finally, Dr Heidi Norman10 Associate Professor in Social and Political Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney was interviewed provided personal insight into Western parliamentary values and the historic exclusion of Aboriginals.

This topic is relevant to the Society and Culture course as it investigates the prevalence of systemic discrimination towards Indigenous Australians, and the exclusive Western cultural norms that perpetuate prejudice and limit Aboriginal participation in macro level government institutions. Furthermore, an evaluation of traditional Indigenous values and beliefs that limit participation in Australian Parliament as it remains a “fundamentally white institution”11will be undertaken.

“Australian Indigenous Politics seems to be in a perpetual state of crisis since we resolved to dismantle the barriers to a full and inclusive citizenship for Indigenous Australians”12

7Maddison, S. (2010). White Parliament, Black Politics: The Dilemmas of Indigenous Parliamentary Representation. Australian Journal of Political Science, 45(4), p.663-680 [Accessed 29 Jan. 2018]. 8 Questionnaire, See Appendix A 9 Focus group, see appendix B 10 Interview, See appendix C 11 Ibid 12Anderson, Ian (2015). “The Crisis of Australia's Indigenous Policy.” The Crisis of Australia's Indigenous Policy, p. 59. InformIT. [Accessed 22 May 2018] Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 27

Isabella Katsiris, Menai High School: Like a Girl

Extract Chapter 3

Unfortunately, it is not just the word feminism, but the embodiment and ambition of the movement that remains vilified, and “heavy with baggage.”1 As so eloquently stated by a questionnaire respondent, feminism is considered “a joke,”2 to many. Henceforth, I discovered that many individuals are unwilling to openly advocate feminist ideologies due to skewed gender stereotypes which associate feminism with “being angry with men.”3 One female millennial, states she felt “inwardly proud, yet outwardly ashamed”4 to call herself a feminist, which seems to embody the zeitgeist of third-wave feminism. However, if silence is synonymous with acceptance, this suggests widespread stagnation of change within the feminist movement due to diminishing levels of vocality and outrage. According to the Indian sage Jiddu Krishnamurti, "You think you are thinking your thoughts, you are not; you are thinking the culture's thoughts.”5 My interview with Jess Corban, cemented this idea of stereotypes as a factor contributing to the patriarchal belief system which counteracts the feminist movement, “We are conditioned to be pleasing to men, therefore identifying with anything that would make men uncomfortable is something to shy away from.”6

Furthermore, according to Michael Kimmel, there are groups in society which, “actively resist gender equality, that see gender equality as something that is detrimental to men;”7 due to the threat it poses to longstanding gender stereotypes of male dominance, strength and superiority. When Laura Bates established the Everyday Sexism Project,8 she identified these individuals as the ones who, “hurled hatred from behind a screen;”9 whilst I similarly observed them to be the questionnaire respondents who labelled feminism as akin to a disease, “men are dying because….arrogant females think….only women are suffering.”10 This distinct hatred was a

1 Ngozi, C. (2012). We should all be feminists [Internet]. TED, TED Conferences, LLC. Available from: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_we_should_all_be_feminists/transcript [Accessed 24/11/17] 2 Questionnaire. 100 replies. (2/27/18) 3 Fonda, J. (2016). Jane Fonda: My Convoluted Journey to Feminism [Internet]. Lenny, Conde Nast. Available from: https://www.lennyletter.com/story/jane-fonda-my-convoluted-journey-to-feminism [Accessed 1/3/18] 4 Questionnaire. 100 replies. (2/27/18) 5 Ibid 6 Interview A. Corban, J. Email Interview. February the 7th, 2018. 7 Kimmel, M. (2015). Why gender equality is good for everyone - men included [Internet]. TED, TED Conferences, LLC. Available from: https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_kimmel_why_gender_equality_is_good_for_everyone_men_included#t-1695 [Accessed 23/1/18] 8 Bates, L. (2018). The Everyday Sexism Project [Internet]. The Everyday Sexism Project. Available from: https://everydaysexism.com/ [Accessed 21/5/18] 9 Bates, L. (2017). What I Have Learned From Five Years of Everyday Sexism [Internet]. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/17/what-i-have-learned-from-five-years-of-everyday-sexism [Accessed 1/2/18] 10 Questionnaire. 100 replies. (2/27/18) Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 28

Isabella Katsiris, Menai High School: Like a Girl

additionally evident through my content analysis11 of morning radio in which a male audience member was quick to accuse ‘feminists,’ for banning Chris Brown from entering Australia, despite the real cause of this being his charge for domestic assault.

However, Bates proclaimed that more dangerous to feminism, were those who are, “confidently [assured] sexism….was a thing of the past and I should look to other countries to find “real problems.”12 This “feeds into the logical fallacy of relative privation,”13 consequently establishing the toxic argument that because western women are not being subjugated in the same ways as women overseas or as women of the past, we should “be grateful,” and accept the status quo in silence. This negative social attitude and submission to gender stereotypes has proliferated into the questionnaire responses of many male, and some female respondents, “the genders are already equal, so what is the need for feminism.”14 Yet, how can feminism be obsolete when female representation in Parliament, science and the workforce is minimal to none? “Logically, the people they are representing are both men and women, so the people representing us should be men and women,”15 yet, the large majority of individuals who signed the abortion bill with Trump were white men.16 Hence, ironically traditional gender stereotypes of masculinity continue to deem it appropriate for men to make decisions about women’s bodies.

11 Content Analysis B. Morning Radio. (30/4/18) 12 Bates, L. (2017). What I Have Learned From Five Years of Everyday Sexism [Internet]. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media Limited. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/17/what-i-have-learned-from-five-years-of-everyday-sexism [Accessed 1/2/18] 13 Interview A. Corban, J. Email Interview. February the 7th, 2018. 14 Questionnaire. 100 replies. (2/27/18) 15 Anonymous. (2018). Can Feminists and Non-Feminists Agree on Gender Equality [Internet]. Jubilee, YouTube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E37swnRU2fs [Accessed ] 16 De Bono, A. (2017). Photo of Donald Trump signing anti-abortion executive order while surrounded by men sparks outrage [Internet]. The Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfax Media. Available from: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/photo-of-trump-signing-antiabortion-executive- order-surrounded-by-men-sparks-outrage-20170124-gtxn8b.html [Accessed 16/7/18] Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 29

Karera Layla Aoki, Willoughby Girls High School: The Yaoi Mystique

Extract Chapter 4

The stigma around the term fujoshi may also change in the future, as suggested by a respondent in my English questionnaire1 that, “while the slang fujoshi may be referred to as normal in Japan… social attitudes to the word may shift and become more accepting of girls favouring [yaoi]”. This suggests that the improved representations of lesbian and gay characters in anime and manga can be used to “erase the psychological barriers constructed between groups2”, hence also catalyse change in values towards fan communities of anime and manga. As Japanese society increases its understanding of sexual minorities, anime and manga will most likely improve their representation of lesbian and gay characters to show more positive and healthy relationships.

Furthermore, the representations of homosexuality in anime and manga may potentially be improved because fans, in particular fujoshi, tend to be young and thus are able to advocate for the more realistic depiction lesbian and gay characters. As supported by a World Value Survey conducted in 2010 to 2014, “attitudes toward homosexuality amongst the youngest generation (20s) of Japan is compatible with, or even more accepting than, the majority of the countries where same-sex marriage is already legal3”. Therefore, it can be hypothesised that the representation of lesbian and gay characters in anime and manga will become more realistic, for such content is usually popular among younger generations who are, as revealed, supportive of LGBT rights. Depictions of lesbian and gay characters may become fuelled by the young generations who initially created and supported the unrealistic images of homosexuality.

While the representation of lesbian and gay characters may undergo change in the future, it is most likely that genres such as yaoi will maintain their popularity, therefore enabling them to be used to empower the LGBT community. As shown through my English4 and Japanese questionnaires5, 69.9% and 68.4% of respondents respectively agreed that anime and manga depicting homosexual relationships will remain a popular in the future. On top of this, the McComb

1 Appendix: English Questionnaire 2 Garretson, J. (2009) ‘Changing Media, Changing Minds: The Lesbian and Gay Movement, Television and Public Opinion’, Graduate School of Vanderbilt University. 3 Tamagawa, M. (2017) ‘Coming Out of the Closet in Japan: An Exploratory Sociological Study’, Journal of GLBT Studies. 4 Appendix: English Questionnaire 5 Appendix: Japanese Questionnaire Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 30

Karera Layla Aoki, Willoughby Girls High School: The Yaoi Mystique

and Shaw’s Agenda-Setting Theory suggests that media can be used to “focus public attention6” on issues prevailing in the macro sphere. Therefore, along with the data from my questionnaires, it can be inferred that anime and manga can be used to empower the LGBT community in Japan. This is again reinforced through my English7 and Japanese8 questionnaires as 63.4% and 57.9% of respondents respectively agreed that yaoi manga and anime can potentially be utlilised to empower the Japanese LGBT community, given that the representations of homosexuality will improve in the future. These statistics therefore further emphasize that narratives can be a “useful tool for changing social attitudes9” towards the LGBT community. While the statistics from my questionnaires may lack in validity for over 57%10 of English respondents and over 76%11 of Japanese respondents were unfamiliar with anime and manga that depicted homosexual relationships, it nevertheless shows that many agree that media can be used to form social values and attitudes. “As levels of public acceptance towards homosexuality continue to increase in Japan12”, genres such as yaoi will most likely remain a popular among young generations and hence potentially become an effective method to empower the LGBT community.

“Increasingly open public discussion about gay… issues, and increasing representation… in the media, will require [yaoi]…to keep pace; readers are less likely to accept outdated stereotypes now13”.

6 McCombs, M. (2011) ‘The Agenda-Setting Theory of the Mass Media in Shaping of Public Opinion’, University of Texas at Austin. 7 Appendix: English Questionnaire 8 Appendix: Japanese Questionnaire 9 Soto-Sanfiel, M. (2018) ‘Positive Representation of Gay Characters in Movies for Reducing Homophobia’, Sexuality & Culture. 10 Appendix: English Questionnaire 11 Appendix: Japanese Questionnaire 12 Takao, Y (2017) ‘Will same-sex partnerships in Japan go national?’, Curtin University, n/a. 13 Appendix: Interview 3 Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 31

Kathryn Victoria Jarrett Keane, Macarthur Anglican School Cobbitty: Oh My COD! Racism

Extract CHAPTERRemastered 3: Break the Fourth Wall

“How can I write love into reality?” - Monika, Doki Doki Literature Club

The video game development industry has become more culturally aware, along with the rest of the global media outlets. The gradual increase in the appropriate representation of playable characters of any Western ethnic minority evidences this. Yet, the same issues within the creation of video games are still prevalent.

There is a vast disconnect of the development teams for many large and small budget games from their consumers, namely in the department of ethnic diversity within the teams. The issue of little diversity in the development industry, with only 3% of game developers being African-American, creates a “remarkable disparity between black players and those who design the games they play”1, allowing misrepresentations and harmful stereotypes to go undetected in the creation process. It is difficult for a person to accurately portray the actions, thoughts and emotions of an entity of a completely different ethnic and cultural background, and yet this occurs readily in the industry. Amongst the populace not involved in video game creation, a general consensus was that “game designers are often all regular, middle-class white men with the same sort of vanilla background”2 and this lack of diversity could lead to “racism, sexism and underlying homophobia.”3 A 2009 study into the implications of identity and cognitive models created by video game use4 reported that developers produced characters that “mirror stereotypes of players as young white males, rather than the actual market demographics”5 and characters that portray their own features and personalities. These trends were reflected by questionnaire respondents, who stated “subconsciously I would have picked the tone that I most identify with”6 or the skin tone that “looked best for the character and the environment”7 would be picked for character creation.

1 Ong, S. (2016). The Video Game Industry’s Problem with Racial Diversity. (online). Retrieved 18 January 2018. www.newsweek.com/2016/10/21/video-games-race-black-protagonists-509328.html 2 Questionnaire respondent, Gen X male 3 Questionnaire respondent, Baby Boomer European male 4 The Opportunity Agenda. Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys. Retrieved June 21, 2018, from http://racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/Media-Impact-onLives-of-Black-Men-and-Boys-OppAgenda.pdf 5 Ibid 6 Questionnaire respondent, Gen X male 7 Questionnaire respondent, Gen Z SEA male Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 32

Kathryn Victoria Jarrett Keane, Macarthur Anglican School Cobbitty: Oh My COD! Racism

Remastered The imagined audience of video games was also said to play a role in the character creation, influencing the character’s backstory and the story’s plot line as well as the ethnicity represented in the game.8 The video game industry may additionally “traffic in these stereotypes”9 due to simple mistaken impression of facts. This is an issue that not only resides in the gaming industry, but permeates all media production and unconscious bias can be unavoidable. However, the above points were not the experience of the interviewed game developer. Their development teams were indeed composed of “men (mostly) and women”10, but the similarities in consensus stop there. In Mario’s teams, they rarely had a lack of diversity, including individuals from New Zealand, Scandinavia and many other countries11, presenting a lack of gender diversity instead of ethnic diversity. Having a more diverse range of people in a game development team can help with the creation of characters in the sense of identity and in turn the sense of identity of the individual gamer.

8 The Opportunity Agenda. Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys. Retrieved June 21, 2018, from http://racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/Media-Impact-onLives-of-Black-Men-and-Boys-OppAgenda.pdf 9 The Opportunity Agenda. Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys. Retrieved June 21, 2018, from http://racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/Media-Impact-onLives-of-Black-Men-and-Boys-OppAgenda.pdf 10 Interview with Mario (name changed for confidentiality) 11 Interview with Mario Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 33

Chelsey-Lee Ortega, Clancy Catholic College: One small step for Woman, One Giant Leap for Mankind

Extract from Chapter 2: She’s more than a woman. She’s a man. The 1990s marked the beginning of a new revolutionary feminist wave that would continue into the 2000s; the third wave. Social values had shifted from masculinity in women, to overt sexuality and femininity as a symbol of strength and power46. Sociologists and authors Bruce Brockett and Laura Brunell, state that feminist values in the 1990s and early 2000s, and ideas of ‘strong women’ included assertion, intelligence and independence, but above all, control over one’s own sexuality47. Intelligence, an internal marker of power, was new to the list of ‘what constitutes strong women’, given Monet’s claim that these were ignored in the second wave48. However outward expressions of ‘strength’ were still just as significant, as “revealing clothing, designer-label stiletto heels, and amateur pole dancing represented true sexual liberation”49 and were a means to empower; labelled by author Ariel Levy as Raunch

Culture; characterised by ‘shocking’ overt sexuality.50 This is supported by the 29% of Generation Y Questionnaire respondents who chose ‘physically attractive’ as a quality of strong women, and the further 80% who stated intelligence, compassion and emotional sensitivity (all associated with traditional femininity) defined strong women51. However, upon analysing the films Terminator 2: Judgement day (1991), Contact (1997), Alien Vs Predator (2004) and Serenity (2005), it was gathered that the science fiction genre did not reflect third wave feminist ideals, but still possessed a delayed reaction to society’s shifting values, as late second wave values were still being reflected. This is evident through the 37% of the time when the female protagonist exhibited masculine characteristics and behaviours such as swearing, using a weapon or engaging in other physical, ‘masculine’ behaviours.52 For instance, Sarah Connor, the savagely violent and domineering protagonist from Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) spent 31% of the movie swearing and using a weapon, and was dressed in masculine military- style attire 99% of the time; as evident in Figure 1.02.53 ______45 Focus Group, Generation X response to question 2, section 2, 3rd April 2018 46 Bruce Burkett & Laura Brunell. (2017, December 28). ‘Feminism’. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-third-wave-of-feminism 47 Bruce Burkett & Laura Brunell. (2017, December 28). ‘Feminism’. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-third-wave-of-feminism 48 Dolores Monet. (2017, July 27). ‘Clothing History- Fashion and style in the 1970’s’. Retrieved from https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Clothing-History-Fashion-and-Style-in-the-1970s. 49 Bruce Burkett & Laura Brunell. (2017, December 28). ‘Feminism’. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-third-wave-of-feminism 50 Ariel Lvey. (2005). Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women And The Rise Of Raunch Culture. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster New York 51 Questionnaire Generation Y results, Question 9, 9th March 2018 52 Content Analysis results, April 2018 53 Content Analysis results, Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), April 2018

Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 34

Chelsey-Lee Ortega, Clancy Catholic College: One small step for Woman, One Giant Leap for Mankind

This does not reflect Brockett and Brunell’s research stating that overt female sexuality and femininity were the socially deemed qualities of strong women; proving the significant inaccuracy with which the female protagonist was represented, within science fiction films during the third wave feminist movement; acting as agents of oppression, when considering the values of the time.54 The one science fiction film which strongly adhered to the social values of the time, however, was Serenity (2005). Within this film, female protagonist Rain spent 34% of the film engaging in physical combat whilst clad in revealing attire; allowing the ‘male gaze’ to make its presence known (High kicks were not as painful for the male audience, than they were for her male opponent).

Therefore, the 1990s and 2000s proved largely inaccurate in their portrayal of the ‘strong woman’ when aligned with social feminist values of the sociocultural context in which they were birthed, and contradict Bruckett and Brunell’s research. This is further evident through Andi Zeisler’s, author for feminist media organisation Bitch Media, conclusion that the third wave’s youth was marked by the manipulation of second wave’s ‘not all rape is intercourse, but all intercourse is rape’ ideology, into a line of empowerment for women to take control of their own sexuality, and hand it to society on a silver platter.55 Of the female-led science fiction films, 80% did not reflect this; nor did focus group members, who favoured the female protagonists who were “less gendered”,56 “masculine”57 and “muscular”.58 Thus, proving science fictions film industry as being an agent of gender-based oppression, as it strayed from contemporary values and lagged far behind.

54 Bruce Burkett & Laura Brunell. (2017, December 28). ‘Feminism’. 55 Zeisler, A. (2008). Feminism and Pop-Culture. Berkeley, California: Seal Press. 56 Generation Y Participant answer to Focus Group Question 1, Section 2, 3rd April 2018 57 Generation Y Participant answer to Focus Group Question 1, Section 2, 3rd April 2018 58 Generation Y Participant answer to Focus Group Question 1, Section 2, 3rd April 2018

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Isobel Rose Carr, Lambton High School: Damsels in Democratic Distress

Extract Chapter 1: THE POLITICS OF PERSPECTIVE PERCEPTIONS OF THE ROLE OF GENDER WITHIN AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

Perceptions of female politicians are derived from the beliefs and values that are internalised as part of an individual’s self-concept. Secondary research by Dr Jill Sheppard reported within an ABC news article stated, ‘male conservative voters were less likely to support a female candidate or leader,’ 1 2 which my questionnaire results supported. Of the 58.5% of males who indicated women were ‘fairly represented’ and ‘over represented’ in Parliament; 52% voted for right-wing, conservative political parties and 61% of these voters were Millennials. 3 When asked ‘do you believe the ratio of male to female politicians in Australian Parliaments needs to change?’, 51.2% males answered no; of which 54% voted for right wing, conservative parties, again 55% of these voters were Millennials.4 Furthermore, my primary research interview with Kate Washington Member for Port Stephens supports Dr Sheppard’s research. When I asked her ‘do you think the Australian constituency believes the ratio of male to female politicians in Australian Parliaments needs to change?’ she stated “if you look at the political parties; within the Labor Party there has been an understanding that it needs to change, but obviously with the Liberal Party not introducing any of the targets or structural changes needed to change theirs [gender imbalance], arguably no, there’s a whole side of the political fence that doesn’t see a need for change,”5 which corroborates Dr Sheppard’s research that right wing conservative philosophy impacts the opportunity for gender equality within politics and Parliament.

It must be acknowledged that there are positive trends arising from female and left-wing participants. Dr Sheppard stated, "Every generation is getting more used to females in leadership positions. We're seeing small increases in the number of women but they tend to be driven by parties on the left. We will eventually change, but it could take another 20 years

1 Sheppard, J., Chang Kang, W., Snagovsky, F. and Biddle, N. (n.d.). Ethnic identities and descriptive representation: a conjoint analysis of vote choice. pp.1-14. [Accessed 19 Jul. 2018] 2 Jacques, O. (2018). Are Australians too conservative to vote for more women in politics?. [online] ABC News. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-05/are-australians-too-conservative-to-vote-for-more-women/9804036 [Accessed 28 Jun. 2018]. 3 Appendix – Primary Questionnaire 4 Appendix – Primary Questionnaire 5 Appendix – Primary Interview with Kate Washington MP Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 36

Isobel Rose Carr, Lambton High School: Damsels in Democratic Distress

before the idea of women in politics becomes mainstream."6 My primary interview and questionnaire supported Dr Sheppard’s research. I asked Kate Washington MP, ‘what do you think society’s views about women being politicians are?’ to which she responded, “[Society’s views are] Changing for the better. Broadly I think there is an understanding that parliament should reflect the community and that there should equal representation of women in parliament, certainly on my side of politics [left-wing] that is well understood.”7 Moreover, 72.5% of females believed that the ratio of female to male politicians needed to change. These results lead to a positive probable future of female politicians becoming part of the norm within Australian parliaments, as a result of evolutionary change and a demand for change amongst left-wing individuals and females. With increased societal discourse about the ‘#metoo’ movement and greater awareness of violence against females, social change is being demanded by females within society.

6 Jacques, O. (2018). Are Australians too conservative to vote for more women in politics?. [online] ABC News. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-05/are-australians-too-conservative-to-vote-for-more-women/9804036 [Accessed 28 Jun. 2018]. 7 Appendix – Primary Interview with Kate Washington MP Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 37

Kasturi PK Kunalan, North Sydney Girls High School: Handcuffed

Extract Chapter 1: AUSTRALIA. THE LAND OF THE NOT-SO FAIR-GO.

However, it has become generalised for Australians to “think class is irrelevant”1, perhaps because Australia, although colonised by the British in 1788, lacks the prolonged historic legacy of a class system. And it’s this good-intentioned Aussie attempt to run away from class and all its connotations, that has served as façade for many Australians to believe they live in a relatively classless society.

In 2018, however, studies are in fact saying the opposite, and that class “is a profound part of who we are”2. Indeed, Australia has always had a cyclical history regarding levels of income inequality. Wealth has consistently been a fundamental indicator of people’s social position and opportunities, thus the equal distribution of income attributes to a stable and egalitarian society. Between Federation and the 1970’s, the gap between the highest and lowest incomes narrowed steadily.3 In 1910, the top 1 percent of individuals were receiving around 12 percent of total income. By 1980, this elite group were receiving a low 5 percent of total income.4 This equalising trend aligned with the nations’ ideals as the government introduced greater reliance on income tax and welfare benefits.

In his book Battlers & Billionaires, Australian Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh attributes this change to three main factors: technology and globalisation, the decline of the union movement and less progressive taxation policies.5 And as the gap between the very poor and the very rich continues to grow, it can be confirmed that classes do exist in Australia. Reinforced by Professor Tony Bennett who states, “if by class, we mean inequalities of wealth, income and opportunity

1 Kraus, M., Park, J. and Tan, J. (2017). Signs of Social Class: The Experience of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(3), pp.422-435. 2 Expert Interview with Professor Tony Bennett (Professor, Western Sydney University; Institute of Culture and Society), conducted 12/03/2018. 3 Gittins, R. (2018). Egalitarianism in Australia is just a facade. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Accessible at: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/egalitarianism-in-australia-is-just-a-facade-20130716-2q25k.html [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018]. 4Ibid. 5 Leigh, A. (2013). Battlers & billionaires. Collingwood, Victoria: Redback. Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 38

Kasturi PK Kunalan, North Sydney Girls High School: Handcuffed which is the case for Australia then, yes, classes definitely exist – and it’s clear that such inequalities are increasing”.6

* * * * * To further support this, I conducted research into determining whether Australians are even acutely aware of their class identity. Data from my questionnaire confirmed that 97.1% of respondents were able to identify the characteristics associated with their specific class7. Similarly, in 2015, the Australian National University concluded from extensive surveys that 94% of Australians were able to categorise themselves into the social class they believed was appropriate out of the following: established working class, established middle class, mobile middle class, emergent affluent class and established affluent class.8

Some academics have credited this increase in class-consciousness to “the very strength of the [egalitarian] tradition which makes Australians particularly conscious of class whenever it rears its ugly head, and they are resentful of it.”9 This could be a direct result of the negative connotations with which class has historically been associated with which has led to its notoriety. This insinuates that although it may be disguised, class is still of extremely high significance to Australians as it continues to foster a ‘class-conscious’ mind-set.

Whilst surveying these results, the ANU study also showed that “Australians tended to underestimate their class, identifying themselves as established middle or working class when they were tended higher on the scale of objective measures”.10 This suggests that Australians are reluctant to be honest about their social class, perhaps because of the increasing hesitancy of coming off as arrogant and boastful in Australia. This correlates with the ‘tall poppy syndrome’, a social phenomenon prevalent in Australia in which people who have achieved notable wealth and

6 Expert Interview with Professor Tony Bennett (Professor, Western Sydney University; Institute of Culture and Society), conducted 12/03/2018 7 Questionnaire Results – 50 South Asian Australian migrants, conducted 12/02/2018 – 12/03/2018. Data displayed in Figure 3. 8 Sheppard, J. and Biddle, N. (2015). Social Class in Australia: Beyond the 'working' and 'middle' class. [online] ANU College of Arts and Sciences, pp.6-16. [Accessed 20 May 2018]. 9McGregor, C. (2001). Class in Australia (Who says Australia has no class system?). 1st ed. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Australia, p. 23-35 Chapter 1 Class Counts. 10 Sheppard, J. and Biddle, N. (2017). Class, capital, and identity in Australian society. Australian Journal of Political Science, 52(4), pp.500-516. Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 39

Kasturi PK Kunalan, North Sydney Girls High School: Handcuffed

success are resented or criticised because their talents elevate them above their peers. The continuity of this syndrome into the present day, reinforces Australia’s conscious effort made to homogenize society.

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Max Goring, Central Coast Grammar: AKRASIA

Extract Chapter 2: Fear

A recurring trend within the articles was the repetition of Muslims as a group associated with terrorism, as if one could not exist without the other. Contained in The Daily Telegraph article ‘Safety overrides any civil liberties’ was the following notable quote: “fighters [from] Iraq and Syria have come back to Australia… they are returning to Australia fresh from the blood-soaked battlefields, still crazed for jihad.”1 Here a clear association has been baked in between immigrants from Iraq and Syria and their connoted Islamic traditions to violence travelling to Australian shores, suggesting that through accepting these people Australia will become a place of danger. The author later uses supposed violence that Muslims bring, to project their worldview: “This may require further laws that do not bother themselves so much with civil liberties. The safety of Australians is a priority far above the liberties of those sworn to destroy us.”2 This article identifies why Muslims have typically been the target of ethically questionable ‘Counter-Terrorism’ measures, for example in 2003, shortly after the signing of the Patriot Act in the United States a list of 80,000 ‘suspicious’ men was made by the FBI, it contained only Muslims3. Of these men 8,000 were interviewed and 5,000 were placed into temporary ‘preventative prison’ as a result of the Patriot Act4. Not a single case resulted in a terror or crime related conviction, yet due to differences in culture and the discriminatory basis of their faith these men were profiled as enemies of the state5.

The Daily Telegraph article was not an isolated case. The email interview with journalist Siobhan Lyons6 identified the scapegoating the Islamic faith by institutional media: “The media does have a significant role in perpetuating existing bigotry where the Islamic faith is concerned (the commercial channels, in particular Channel 7 and its somewhat conservative shows such as Today Tonight and A Current Affair, are particularly illustrative of this)… nobody goes around and says that there is a connection between the Lutheran religion and violent behaviour. But Islam is a

1 Primary research: Qualitative content analysis between articles conducted 16th of April 2018 2 Primary research: phone Interview with Danielle Celermajer, Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, conducted 15th of April 2018 3 "The NSEERS Effect: A Decade Of Racial Profiling, Fear, And Secrecy". Pennstate.Com, 2012. https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/_file/clinics/NSEERS_report.pdf. 4 Ibid 5 Ibid 6 Primary research: email interview with Siobhan Lyons, Lecturer of Journalism at Macquarie University, conducted 19th of March 2018 Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 41

Max Goring, Central Coast Grammar: AKRASIA

particularly vulnerable target that is frequently and conveniently linked with violence when there 7 are issues of terrorism.” Lyon’s comment about the scapegoating of Muslims is reflective of the Daily Telegraph article where perhaps because of a cultural difference it is much easier to identify and blame another group, such as Muslims, for acts as ambiguous as terrorism. As Masha Gessen explains in an article from ‘The New Yorker’: “Viewing him [the terrorist] as a regular person who needs no particular beliefs, affiliation, or label—or even a gun license—to kill dozens of people makes us feel utterly defenceless.”8. The message extracted from this is similar to that of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 where despite him being killed by a lone gunman (Lee Harvey Oswald) people were quick to pin the blame on the Soviet Union9, due to the social environment of the time; fearing communism. Max Weber’s rationalisation can again be used to justify this: humans naturally fear the unpredictable, thus we would rather associate blame with an organised, predictable conspiracy10 rather than the chaotic truth of an estranged gunman acting on no premediated lines.

7 Primary research: email interview with Siobhan Lyons, Lecturer of Journalism at Macquarie University, conducted 19th of March 2018 8 Gessen, Masha. "Why We Should Resist Calling The Las Vegas Shooting “Terrorism”". The New Yorker, 2017. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-we-should-resist-calling-the-las-vegas-shooting-terrorism. 9 Neuman, Scott. "Documents Offer Insight Into Soviet View Of JFK Assassination". NPR.Org, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/27/560345132/documents-offer-insights-into-soviet-view-of-jfks- assassination. 10 Max Weber, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” Society and Culture Association NSW CultureScope Vol 115, March 2019 42

Dear Pippa’s Frequently Asked Questions & Suggestions

Pippa receives a multitude of questions and many of them are very similar in nature. So here are some recommendations for students and teachers currently on their PIP research journey. Do not forget you can still contact Pippa via the Society and Culture Association website https://sca.nsw.edu.au/ in the contacts tab or directly via [email protected]

Question: My topic title is ………. Is it too broad? How can I improve it? Answer: Remember to have a focus question, not just a topic or statement. It is often the first thing a marker reads. Try formatting the question in terms of: ‘’To what extent does…..affect / impact the lives of …. In the micro/meso/macro world?’’

Question: How many research methods do I need? Is it OK to have two interviews or should the research methods be different? Answer: The number of research methods depends on your topic. It is possible to have similar research methods such as interviews as long as you justify and explain them. Most students opt for different methods, depending on what they are researching. Is it a common-knowledge topic or a topic that needs an ‘expert?’. You also need to consider the reliability and validity of your research methods independently and when used holistically in the research investigation.

Question: How do I include a cross-cultural in my PIP? Answer: Sometimes the cross-cultural is inherent (gender, culture, age, etc). You do not have to ‘force’ a cross-cultural perspective if it is apparent. Include a perspective which is different from your own culture and note that ‘time’ as such is not a cross-cultural, but ‘generational’ comparison certainly is.

Question: I am doing my PIP on gender fluidity/the LGBTQ community/same-sex attraction etc. How should I go about it? Answer: This is a very valid topic: be careful not to get too ‘personal’ with questions/interviews etc, and respect the views of those you encounter (i.e. ethics). Remember to have a focus question (what you are trying to find out) and integrate the perspectives of gender as featured in the HSC course.

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Dear Pippa’s Frequently Asked Questions & Suggestions

Question: I am doing my PIP on ‘how women/girls are portrayed in popular music videos/lyrics etc’’ Do you have any ideas? Answer: Try for a very specific angle on this topic. Aim for a detailed focus question. Integrate concepts and syllabus points from the Popular Culture depth study in particular

Question: I was planning on focusing my PIP on how women/females/ young people are portrayed in the media. What do you think? Answer: You need to frame your PIP topic question around the HSC syllabus, including the HSC Core. Be careful not to be too broad. What is it exactly that you want to find out? Remember, ‘media’ includes social media

Question: I just wanted to check that it’s OK to use generational differences as a cross-cultural. Answer: This is fine as long as you specifically separate this interpretation from the change/continuity component that you will need to also integrate in your PIP

Question: I wanted to interview someone for my PIP but this is too difficult. Is it OK to email this person instead? Answer: Ideally, a face-to-face interview is best, then phone then email. As long as you acknowledge your limitations in your justification, then email is satisfactory .Of course, it depends on your valid questions.

Question: How many chapters do I need? Answer: There are no specifications of ‘how many’ chapters are needed in the Central Material of the PIP. However, it is important to organise your Central Material logically and to accurately communicate your key ideas in answering your research question or statement. Total word count is between 2500-4000 words.

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