All Women are Sluts: Australian Rules Football and Representations of the Feminine

Key Themes and Research Agendas in the Sport-Alcohol Nexus

“…The relationship between alcohol, sport and violence is well documented. Incidences of physical assault, rape and sexual assault have been documented, with sportsmen at all levels (from amateur, college through to professional athletes) being identified as perpetrators of violence against women (Fagan, 1993;Jasinski, 2001;Mewett & Toffoletti, 2008;Waterhouse-Watson, 2007. My own work on a much publicized series of allegations of sexual assault across several codes of football in Australia details the forms of "discrete subordination" of the women who are the victims of such crimes (Palmer, 2006).…”

Shame and disgrace in Australian football culture: Rape claims and public affect

“…This paper will draw upon fan responses to the Johns incident to examine the way in which the flow of public emotion constructs gendered subjects, reproduces patriarchal rape narratives, and justifies the crime of sexual assault. Where previous research on Australian football and rape allegations has looked primarily at media narratives that construct certain identities (Toffoletti, 2007;Waterhouse-Watson, 2007; and the racialization of rape as justification for racist policies and practices (Baird, 2009), this paper contributes to the feminist literature by interrogating the emotional content of fan responses to footballers' sexual transgressions. This is, first and foremost, a textual analysis that examines the emotional shape of "public opinion" emerging from fan narratives made publicly available through online news posting.…”

Challenges of Bystander Intervention in Male-Dominated Professional Sport

“…The 2004 sexual violence allegations attracted enormous attention from both the media and academics, with feminist critics asking whether Australian football clubs were breeding violent and disrespectful masculine cultures (Philadelphoff-Puren, 2004;Waterhouse-Watson, 2007). Earlier Australian sociological studies had illustrated the various ways in which violence-supportive norms and behaviors were reproduced and enacted within masculine football club cultures (Fitzclarence & Hickey, 2001;Hutchins & Mikosza, 1998;Light & Kirk, 2000;Mills, 1997).…”