Women, Sport and Ethnicity: Exploring Experiences of Difference in Netball
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WOMEN, SPORT AND ETHNICITY: EXPLORING EXPERIENCES OF DIFFERENCE IN NETBALL Tracy Lynn Taylor Submitted for the qualification of: Doctor of Philosophy 2000 Acknowledgments I would like to express my appreciation to the following individuals for their guidance, assistance, motivation and perseverance in the completion of this thesis. From the initial selection of the topic, through its various stages of conceptualisation and re conceptualisation through to completion my supervisor, Richard Cashman, has been invaluable. Richard provided direction and feedback that allowed me the opportunity to move at my own pace and in my own way. In particular, his eye for detail was greatly appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge Kristine Toohey’s role in partnering a number of research projects from which the idea for this thesis emerged. Researching cultural diversity presented a huge learning curve for both of us and opened my eyes to a different way of looking at sports organisation and discourse. My appreciation also to Tony Veal and Bob Barney who agreed to read and comment on the final draft and probably didn’t know what they were in for! Many thanks for your insightful comments and generously giving up your leisure time to do so! Finally, my appreciation to Peter McGraw for his proof-reading skills, suggestions on structure and language, and honest appraisal of content. Certificate of Originality I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, nor material to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. ABSTRACT This thesis investigates how sports organisations and discourses have impacted on the sports participation of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia. A series of national participation studies have documented that women from minority ethnic backgrounds have significantly lower participation rates in sports and physical activity than Anglo-Australian women. However, the explanations and dimensions of this difference have not been examined in previous research. The experiences of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are used in this thesis to explore sports discourses and organisation and the embodiments of their interrelationship. The present research proposes that sports organisations and discourses within Australia have historically served to marginalise women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The arguments for this position are explored using a local narrative which details the situated nature of women’s experiences of sports. These experiences are located within a historical context that traces migration policies, the growth and development of sports and women’s social relations since white settlement of Australia. It is argued that contemporary sports discourses and organisation are inextricably tied to Australia’s colonial and imperialist past. Theories of ethnicity, gender and sports are analysed. The theoretical perspective taken in this thesis builds on feminist ideologies and ethnicity studies. Empirical analysis is undertaken using gender relations to situate sport as a site of cultural struggles best understood through investigations of history and diversity. Aspects of power, control and influence are central to this thesis. The empirical component of this thesis uses secondary data sources, surveys and interviews to investigate the research proposition. This is achieved on two levels. The first level interrogates existing data to create a macro level analysis of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in sports. A survey of 972 schoolgirls was undertaken to collect information on sports participation and attitudes to sports. This was followed by 30 interviews with women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds that explored individual sports experiences and perspectives on sports. The second level of investigation employed the case study of netball to examine the research question as it related to a specific sports organisation. The case study component of the research involved document and archival analysis, a survey of 372 netball players and interviews with 18 women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and former and current netball administrators. The thesis analyses the empirical data as it relates to the organisation and discourse of sports in Australia. The principal conclusion reached is that sports organisation and discourses are located within a societal power structure that places women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds on its margins. Sports participation is predicated on conformity to existing cultural practices and expectations and it does little to facilitate cultural diversity. The women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who participated in the research did not perceive sports as particularly inclusive of gender and culture. The examination of netball demonstrated that netball has not been concerned with ‘other’ women, rather it has focussed its efforts on appealing to ‘mainstream’ women. While netball has not explicitly excluded the involvement of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, neither has it actively encouraged cultural diversity. This thesis makes a contribution to knowledge in the field of sports studies with its empirical research and through the ensuing development of a framework for locating the implications of inclusion or exclusion in sports organisations and discourses. This understanding can be used to assess and inform future sports policy development and practice. Principally, the thesis seeks to acknowledge and legitimise the sports experiences of women from diverse backgrounds and in doing so provides insights into a better theoretical understanding about the nexus of gender, ethnicity and sports. CHAPTER ONE: I NTRODUCTION AND THESI S OVERVEW 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Situating the Research Problem 3 1.2 Justification of the Research Topic 6 1.3 Outline of the Thesis 15 1.4 Terminology 19 1.5 Delimitations 23 1.6 Summary 23 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL CONCERNS 2.0 Introduction 24 2.1 Interpreting ‘Ethnicity’ 25 2.2 Gender and Ethnic Identity 28 2.3. Theoretical Perspectives of Ethnicity and Sports 33 2.4 Sports and Ethnic Identity 39 2.5 Gender and Sports 44 2.6 Women, Ethnicity and Sports 59 2.7 Conclusions 70 CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF AUSTRALIAN MIGRATION AND SPORTS 3.0 Contextualising the Empirical Research 72 3.1 Brief History of Migration to Australia 72 3.2 Women in Sports in Australia 87 3.3 Summary 99 i CHAPTER FOUR: NETBALL IN AUSTRALIA – A SOCIAL HISTORY 4.0 Introduction 101 4.1 Australian Netball 101 4.2 Development up to 1970 104 4.3 Development of the Code 106 4.4 Tracing the Growth and Development 108 4.5 Firstly Feminine – A Game for ‘Girls’ 114 4.6 More than just a Name Change 122 4.7 Commentary 137 4.8 Cultural Diversity Issues 139 4.9 Conclusions 143 CHAPTER FI VE: METHODOLGY 5.1 Introduction 144 5.2 Research Principles and Paradigms 144 5.3 Overview of Research Procedures 151 5.4 Survey Data Collection – Selection of Sample Regions 156 5.5 Questionnaire Survey Implementation 158 5.6 Individual Interviews 159 5.7 The Case Study 163 5.8 Validity and Reliability 166 5.9 Procedures for the Analysis of Data 167 5.10 Ethical Considerations 171 5.11 Conclusions 172 ii CHAPTER SI X: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE MARGI NS – THE FINDINGS 6.0 Introduction 173 6.1 Theoretical Perspective 174 6.2 Schoolgirl Questionnaire Survey 176 6.3 Individual Interviews 181 6.4 Women on the Margins 209 CHAPTER SEVEN: NETBALL CASE STUDY 7.0 Introduction 216 7.1 Schoolgirl Netball Participation and Experiences 216 7.2 Netball Questionnaire Survey 218 7.3 Voices From The Margins 223 7.4 Discussion 237 7.5 The ‘Case’ of Netball 243 7.6 Reflecting on the Analysis 247 CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 8.0 Introduction 249 8.1 Thesis Propositions 249 8.2 Conclusions about the Research Problem 251 8.3 Conclusions about the Research Questions 256 8.4 Implications for Theory – changing sports discourses 264 8.5 Implications for Practice - changing sports organizations 271 8.6 Reflections on the Research 275 8.7 Further Research 277 iii REFERENCES 280 LIST O F TABLES AND FIGURES Table 4.1 Most popular sports/physical activities for females 15 yrs+ 103 Table 5.1 Blacktown by country of birth 104 Table 5.2 Blacktown born overseas 105 Table 5.3 Fairfield by country of birth 105 Table 5.4 Fairfield born overseas 105 Table 5.5 Wollongong by country of birth 106 Table 5.6 Wollongong born overseas 106 Table 5.7 Schoolgirl questionnaire distribution 157 Table 5.8 Netball survey distribution 159 Table 6.1 Non-Australian born distribution: Schoolgirl survey 176 Table 6.2 Parents country of birth: Schoolgirl survey 177 Table 6.3 Membership in a sporting club 179 Table 6.4 Most popular sports in schoolgirl survey 179 Table 6.5 Most common reasons indicated