Our identity as Australians is what we perceive
to be ‘Australian’. “Australians on the whole identify themselves as sports
lovers, ‘Aussie’ battlers, sense of mateship, being laid back and demanding a
fair go.” (Ahmed, 2010)
The Australian culture may be depicted
around the world as the classic ‘G’day mate’ bloke who drinks beer out of a VB
can and chases after crocodiles in rivers, amongst many others – mostly lies.
However, there is one depiction of Australia which stems from a string of
truths and true ‘Australianness’, and that is – Sport.
Whether you are a farmer who lives in a
small country town, or a postman or even a CEO at a multinational company,
everyone in Australia knows and mostly likes sports. It may be the typical AFL
Friday night game that takes your fancy, a game of amateur indoor soccer, or
the occasional social tennis played with friends. The majority of Australian’s
come together for sport, it’s what makes Australia, Australia.
You could try and say that music and art
and politics make our culture – but I would have to say that sport is what
makes Australian culture. Sure, music, art, fashion and food all have their own
place in Australian identity, but with Melbourne as the ‘Sports capital of the
World’, this is what makes Australia us.
Reference:
Ahmed, A, 2010, Our national identity, DVD video, Written by Stephen Scoglio
Hi Amelia
ReplyDeleteI too am annoyed by the stereotypes Australian's receive from overseas, as we are too diverse a nation to be classified as 'crocodile chasing, bogans'. I too subscribe to your point of sport as a tool for national unification and identity. As Australian's, it is intrinsically embedded in our DNA to worship our sporting culture, be it through the AFL, NRL or any of our other 'national' codes. Due to the 'mixing pot' of ethnicities that are prevalent in our society, it is hard to generalise a specific culture to all Australians. Therefore, our love for all things sporting related is not a bad substitute!