‘It's our meal ticket’: Pacific bodies, labour and mobility in Australia

Abstract

Drawing on two separate projects, this paper considers how the inter-related logic of sport (particularly rugby union and rugby league), labour and the body plays out as Pacific Island men negotiate their identity in Australia. While arguably reinforcing stereotypes of Pacific Island men as naturally gifted and aggressive, both codes of rugby in some situations allow for the development of a form of ‘Polycultural capital’ which, when successfully deployed, is recognized and valued within the Pacific Island diaspora in Australia. The strong links between rugby and Polynesian masculinity can act to legitimize the development of the body for rugby, while simultaneously facilitating other cultural practices and the use of Pacific languages. This paper will explore responses from qualitative interviews with Polynesians who were either born in Australia or have migrated there, and examine the range of mobility that they experience.