Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS writer.
In the early 90s, I had my 15 minutes of fame across a couple of National Rugby League football seasons. The media called me ‘the feminist fighting football’ after I wrote a controversial article on masculinity, football and players’ violence on and off the field. This article focused on an unpleasant incident in a Brisbane nightclub where some Queensland National Rugby League players, fuelled up by drink and testosterone, played dirty by manhandling a girl’s boobs and roughing up the club manager who tried to stop them. This incident was glossed over by the Sunday Mail because News Limited were major sponsors of the State of Origin.
When the match against the Blues happened on the Wednesday, these abusive males were glorified as Maroon heroic warriors on the field and their off-field transgressions were muted. The woman concerned was objectified and rendered invisible, while the manager was marginalised as an inferior form of masculinity.
I was bombarded by requests to comment on radio, TV, in newspapers, and even to commentate a whole NRL match on TV for Seven, from a feminist perspective. As a media academic I became both object and subject in the media, quite an uncomfortable position to be in. Funnily enough, often drive-time male radio announcers would agree with me, congratulating me, for instance, in the NRL heartland of Newcastle and Western Sydney, for being game enough to tackle a taboo topic. By contrast, I was viciously attacked once by a female radio announcer in Hobart, for daring to criticise sporting heroes.
After that, I wrote a couple more articles on sporting masculinity, homoeroticism in football, and further explored off-field violence against women including rape. I was almost signed up by a well known publisher to write a book. Unfortunately, they wanted me to write about violence and masculinity across all footie codes, whereas I felt I had enough material on NRL. When that contract fell through, I decided to leave sporting heroes to others, and began to specialise in the representation of disgracefully ageing male bodies in popular culture – e.g. Andy Sipowitz in NYPD. Funnily enough the media rush transformed into a mere trickle! Ironically, however, while I still fiercely condemn excessive violence on-field, and any manifestations of violence and abuse off-field, particularly against women, I have become a great fan of State of Origin matches.
An old Queensland comrade has recently written a musical on the State of Origin. Hopefully this will be produced by 2015, and will then tour the NRL heartland, delighting everyone. Watch this space! I have fond memories of the momentous Origin 1 when our team, led by the legendary Artie Beetson, beat the Blues for the first time. I was actually present at Lang Park for that historic occasion.
My one-time spouse played on the wing for Easts and when he stopped playing, we used to go along to watch various games. He had boarded at one of the top Brisbane church schools where Union was king. However out of rejection of that school’s culture, when his school days finished, he chose to play the working man’s game, Rugby League.
Over the years, vacillating between enchantment and disenchantment, I have found that I did not enjoy the TV commentary at State of Origin time, preferring to turn it off and listen to the wit and wisdom of comedy duo Roy and H.G. Hence I chuckled when they commented on Deborah Kerr – from The King and I – ie Wally Lewis, the King. Also of course Glen Lazarus the Brick with Eyes featured a lot; he is now a member of Clive Palmer’s party and even more brick-like than before.
These days I am a dedicated fan of the brilliant S of O Queenslanders Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Jonathan Thurston in particular. My friend Juanita and I were hoping that Cameron would leave Storm in Melbourne and that the boy from Logan would return to play in Queensland for the Broncos. Sadly this did not eventuate; we will just have to enjoy his playing as Queensland and Australian captain.
I am still fascinated by media reportage on the NRL. For instance recently the Courier-Mail earnestly discussed at length the ramifications of the fact that Greg Inglis’s partner was expecting their baby on the same date as Origin 2. We await with bated breath for the outcome, a battle between nature and culture writ large.
Right now I am already humming possible tunes in my head for the (hopefully) upcoming State of Origin musical extravaganza. Who indeed will play the onstage Wally, Mal, the Brick, Alan, Cameron, Billy, Greg and Jonathan..?
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