Diasporic Belonging, Masculine Identity and Sports: How rugby league affects the perceptions and practices of Pasifika peoples in Australia A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Gina Louise Hawkes BA (Hons) University of Sydney School of Global Urban and Social Studies College of Design and Social Context RMIT University April 2019 i I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Gina Hawkes 11/04/19 ii Acknowledgements To RMIT University for accepting and funding me and to all the staff who helped along the way, thank you. To my family and friends who have endured me, encouraged me, questioned me, and lifted me up when I needed it most, you are the light in my life. I want to particularly give thanks to Ashleigh Wardell, Frances Morrice, Megan Donker, Lara Williams and Mark Ashmore for being my ride or dies. To Sophia Hanover, Rob Larsen, Sam Burkley and Anoushka Klaus, thank you for always welcoming me into your homes on my numerous visits to Melbourne. To Shelley and Matt Hackett, and Maxine Sutherland and fanau, fa’afetai lava for all your Samoan wisdom and acceptance of my stumbling allyship, you have taught me so much, tele alofa. To my Krone clan, I love you all and always have and always will, thank you for helping me become the curious soul that I am and encouraging me to pursue my happiness. Mum, you’re a star. To my brilliant, always encouraging supervisory team – Peter Phipps, whose knowledge and warmth always gave me the push I needed, Barry Judd, whose work and ethos is a continual inspiration, Kalissa Alexeyeff, who lead me through my milestones and was so generous with her time, and Hariz Halilovich for his helpful contributions to the final drafts of this work, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would like to thank all the scholars who showed interest in my work, for all the chats and advice, there are too many of you to mention, but the openness of the Pacific and indigenous studies communities in particular, has been incredibly enriching and uplifting. To my boyfriend who became my husband during this project, Ashley Hawkes, arohanui! You have taught me so much about Māori culture, and made me a better person in every way. Thank you for reading my work, wiping away my tears, listening to my presentation practices, offering your advice, relishing in the joys of sport and art with me, and for sharing in my excitement and anguish and always believing in me. To all the Hawkes family, I say ngā mihi and arohanui, I am so thankful to be part of your whanau. iii Last but not least, to all my participants, I hope you will accept this piece of work as my small koha for all that you have given me. Thank you for your time, energy, life lessons, patience, good cheer and humour, and for your wit and wisdom, you continue to genuinely blow me away and inspire me to be both strong and vulnerable. Thank you Leo Tanoi, Patty Perez and your team at SVSG, and the anonymous NRL, NSWRL, Auckland rugby league, and community members who have given me their time. They say it takes an army, but I like to think it takes a sea of islands. We are all in this ocean together and you have kept me swimming. Kia ora, fa’afetai lava, vinaka vaka levu, malo ‘aupito, meitaki ma‘ata, thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii List of tables............................................................................................................... vii List of figures ............................................................................................................. vii Glossary .................................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 4 A trajectory of the research journey ............................................................................... 9 Geographical focus ...................................................................................................... 10 The vā ........................................................................................................................... 14 Decolonial methodology and paradoxes ...................................................................... 15 Sport and masculinity .................................................................................................. 18 Thesis structure ............................................................................................................ 21 CHAPTER TWO. METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 26 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 26 Building the research question ..................................................................................... 28 Methods........................................................................................................................ 32 Ethics process .......................................................................................................... 34 Pasifika sports studies in the diaspora ......................................................................... 41 The quotidian ............................................................................................................... 44 An indigenous feminist habitus ................................................................................... 47 Pasifika relational identity in a postcolonial diaspora: Incorporating the vā ............... 49 Talanoa and Pasifika methodologies ........................................................................... 52 Researcher and researched ........................................................................................... 54 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER THREE. CONTEXT ............................................................................. 58 Colonising indigenous masculinity .............................................................................. 66 The paradoxical power of sport in the everyday .......................................................... 70 A brief history of the Australian Pasifika diaspora ...................................................... 72 CHAPTER FOUR. IDENTITY AND RELATIONALITY: USING THE VĀ TO EXPLORE SPORTING SPACES FOR AUSTRALIAN DIASPORIC PASIFIKA PEOPLE ..................................................................................................................... 77 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 77 Emergent diasporic Pasifika identity and its connections to a global indigeneity ....... 79 Being between and belonging ...................................................................................... 85 Global indigeneity: Being indigenous away from home and on stolen land ............... 91 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 103 CHAPTER FIVE. JOY AND PARADOX: EVERYDAY ENGAGEMENTS OF THE PASIFIKA DIASPORA IN RUGBY LEAGUE .......................................... 105 Framing and silencing: The myth of purity and truth ................................................ 105 v Paradoxes of sport ...................................................................................................... 110 Joy and play ............................................................................................................... 113 The other side of the paradox: Oppression and limitation ......................................... 120 Pasifika perceptions of sport and diasporic identity .................................................. 123 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 130 CHAPTER SIX. THE AUSTRALIAN PASIFIKA DIASPORA AND MASCULINITIES: THE HEGEMONIC, THE POSTCOLONIAL, AND THE HYPER...................................................................................................................... 132 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 132 Historical background ................................................................................................ 134 Contemporary effects: The male Pasifika body and the myth of the “natural” ......... 136 Stereotypical Pasifika game play and hyper-masculinity .......................................... 143 Emasculation and