National Identity

[transcendancing]

So the interesting thing about uni, is that lecturers have opinions - and that's awesome! Cos then I can agree or disagree with them

Comments

[angriest]

I would argue that women are entirely absent from the ANI.

[transcendancing]

babalon_93 and I would possibly agree - and inside of this, we thought that it's really unsurprising that Australia is sexist and doesn't value women.

Not to mention Indigenous Australia.

[alias_sqbr]

We're there as part of the ensemble of the men's self image rather like the blue heeler and ute eg the stoic farmer's wife or unpretentious outdoorsy girlfriend. But other than that, I agree, not so much. I can't think of any time I've felt something has tried to appeal to me as an Australian in a gendered-towards-women way (though some of it is unisex), and when I try and fill in the blank of "As an Australian woman, I am.." I don't get much of an archetype in mind.

[angriest]

Oddly I never feel Australian unless I'm in Europe - then I suddenly get this massive sense of "I'm a breezy, laid-back Australian who's a straight shooter and lacks respect for authority". Except I always cave and start respecting the authority.

[transcendancing]

So, babalon_93 and I remembered that there is another woman on our Australian note currency - the $10, and so I thought I'd mention her here

[akire_yta]

Dame Edna carries a certain irony in light of the discussion

My first thought was Edith Cowan, tbh. But seriously, who can tell me anything about her without wikipedia?? (I'll give you the bonus if you went to ECU)

This is interesting, given Australia was one of the first countries to give women the vote, that we are so struggling to think of female leaders in terms of shaping our national ID.

[vegetus]

Wasn't she the first woman in federal parliment? And was on the old $5 note :)

(And I didn't study at ECU!)

[transcendancing]

Caroline Chisholm used to be on ..the $5 note I think.

[arcadiagt5]

For me only the first one features into my view of the ANI, and only through the extended experience of Australians at war, ie I take it back to Eland River and forward to at least the point in WWII when an Australian general defied Churchill because he believed his orders needed to come from the (de facto if not de jure) Australian government.

As for the rest I would be celebrating the Australian role in democracy - the early extension of the franchise independent of gender and land holding as well as the innovation of the secret ballot (sometimes known as the "Australian ballot"). And frankly, The Dismissal needs to be in there as well.

[doctor_k_]

What I think your lecturer has there is The White Male ANI. To the exclusion of indigenous people, early Afghan and Chinese immigrants, later waves of Asian and European immigrants, recent Sudanese people, etc etc.

[baby_elvis]

Perhaps it is in the act of exclusion that the identity lies??

[rabbit1080]

Australian "cultural cringe" seems to be a different sort of exclusion, but it's still a sort of identity that's based on exclusion.

[pharaoh_katt]

I can definitely associate with the cultural cringe. I can't stand seeing a lot of "Australiana" things.

I've always wondered, where does this cultural cringe come from? Do we really have a culture that's so terrible? Or is it more to do with the Australian way of self-deprecating humour and the like?

[baby_elvis]

For me, the Australian Nurses and civilians who were prisoners of war of the Japanese in WWII are part of my ANI, but I may be the only one. I suppose they are my female version of the ANZACS. I'd add mateship to the ANZAC myth, as well as to the male POWs in WWII.

There is also the station/farm wife figure, perhaps. The beach girl?

Note - lack of aboriginality in ANI.

I think of the Azaria chamberlain story as an Australian myth, but don't think it fits into ANI.

I reject Ned Kelly as part of my ANI.

The ANZACS also has an element of sticking it to the poms, because 'it was their fault it all went wrong'.

[cricketk]

No you're not - because I immediately thought of A Town Like Alice except of course, apart from being fictional, she was British.

[arcadiagt5]

Well said.

I will admit to a sneaking hope that despite the initial proposal of Wright that the new QLD seat will end up being called Waters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Waters) as I think that would start to sneak some aboriginality into the ANI via the ANZAC route.

[babalon_93]

I reject Ned Kelly as part of my ANI.

I'd like to hear more about this if you are up for elaborating.