Social inclusion and sport: culturally diverse women's perspectives

Australian Journal of Social Issues, Autumn, 2009 by Natasha Cortis

But while an option for sport and recreation providers is to allow (and place the onus on) individuals to modify sports attire (for example by wearing longer clothing), some women reported this could be physically uncomfortable and potentially stigmatising. Amira, an older Lebanese woman felt her swimming opportunities were limited, and although she could adapt her dress, she found it uncomfortable:

I'm covered too. I find it difficult. Not all the sports I can do, you see, just a few, because it's a bit hard, like at swimming we go and it's only for women. I go sometimes to [swimming time] for everyone [men and women] but I have to wear a long one [gestures] and cover my head. It's not comfortable. (Group 4)

Wearing modest attire was not a preferred option when it came to swimming, with one Iraqi woman in regional Victoria, for example, explaining through a translator that this was 'no good...we cover up all the time. .. [we] want to feel free' (group 3). On the basis that covering up could attract unwanted attention or stigma, Sadia felt women from her community preferred women's only swimming facilities or private time:

Most of the women can't go to a public place because they feel conscious of when they have to have their own special swimmers made for them which is different to other people, with the t-shirt, fully covered in a way that allows them to swim. Other people stare, they can't understand that concept. So...they... have private time when they go as a group and have their own swimming session, which I think is great. (Group 7)

Self-consciousness and body image

As well as religiously based customs around dress and covering, a further dimension of exclusion relates to notions of beauty, body image, and skill, compounding the need for activities and facilities to accommodate visual privacy and diversity of physical expression. While some felt self-conscious about a perceived lack of skill, for others, sport raised insecurities around beauty and body image. Pacific Islander and some African women described pressures to be slim, and felt more conscious of their body image in Australia and subsequently less comfortable about participating in sport, especially in water sports. Arihi, a Tongan woman in her early thirties, described her discomfort in swimwear:

It's just uncomfortable. You go outside, and see all those skinny things around you, you just don't feel comfortable (Group 11). Sadia perceived that African women also felt pressure to participate more in physical activities in Australia in the hope of pursuing western notions of beauty. Yet facilities made these women feel uncomfortable or did not cater for their needs for privacy from men:

Over there it's celebrated to be curvy, not like a stick figure. Curvy. That's what we believe is the typical woman is beautiful. It's flaunted, that's what we have. And then here they're told what you have is considered fat. Then it's a problem [of finding somewhere to exercise]...you go mainstream and then you feel out of place, or it's mostly men. (Group 7)