“Everyone knows the top two things that don’t belong on the footy field are girls and wusses”
Throughout her open letter, Chelsea Roffey challenges the history of sport and play being a “male domain” and an exclusionary practice. As readers, we are forced to question a culture that has provided so many moments of frustration and challenge to an individual merely looking to establish herself as a part of a world she has loved since childhood. It is this idea of who may “belong” on the field of play that creates an awkward question as to how sport could have come to be seen as something for females to enjoy, but only from afar, with any sense of participation to be seen as aspirational and different from the norm.
Ironically, many of the traits that we attribute to great sportspeople; courage, determination, self-assurance; are exhibited by Roffey as she makes her way in the male-dominated industry that is the AFL. A derisive voice is employed by Roffey as she creates a figure that is able to ride the bumps and bruises of her ambition, but outlines the ridiculous nature of why her needing to prove herself due to her sex is an issue in the first place. She refers to the character Baby from the film Dirty Dancing and the manner in which she, in one scene, “narrows her eyes, purses her lips and shoots invisible daggers at him, as if to say, ‘Screw. You.’” This mirrors much of her journey as she is forced to deal with questions and taunts that range from the peculiar to the outright sexist and demeaning.
By being a part of the world of AFL football and able to comment on the relationships with players and officials, Roffey’s reflection on the unnecessary obstacles she was forced to overcome acts as a demonstration of how there need not be such a division of the sexes when it comes to the right to play. Male readers in particular could be led to feel embarrassment at the lengths Roffey has to go to in order to establish herself as worthy and capable in what, as she often reminds us, is a game played by adults and children alike.
With the success of The Matildas at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the further promotion of women’s leagues, there is plenty to be considered in regards to how the domain of play was kept from so many women. Links between sport and life can be made and how such attitudes and cultures could be born from the prevailing social norms of yesteryear. Roffey speaks of this impact as, despite her assured and witty style, she admits to feeling routinely “out of [her] depth”. Thus, a mirror is put up to sporting fans as to the culture of play in our country and whether we have the maturity as a society to be inclusive in evening the playing field and eradicating the hurdles that too many women have to overcome in order to pursue their own sporting ambitions.
The teaching package from where this reading has been taken from is available on our resources page. Please reachout if you would like any further support with your teaching of this area of study.
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