Yoko Kanemasu

Pride of the People: Fijian Rugby Labour Migration and Collective Identity

Rugby is a sport that has given Fiji international recognition. The professionalisation of rugby has led to a growing number of elite players emigrating from Fiji – often temporarily but sometimes permanently – to metropolitan countries, with an estimated 450 athletes currently involved in foreign competitions. Whilst Fijians have a long history of migration to metropolitan societies, the recent global dispersion of rugby players has added new dimensions and complexities. This article intends to shed light upon this migratory phenomenon by exploring what it means for these Fijians to ply their trade in foreign leagues. Based on semi-structured interviews, the article examines the experiences of Fijian players who are currently or have previously been contracted by metropolitan rugby clubs and what these experiences mean to them regarding their sense of collective identity and pride, especially in the context of politico-economic disparities between Fiji and the host countries. In doing so, particular attention is paid to the voices and agency of those athletes who claim rugby migration as a space for counter-hegemonic collective self-expression. The article thus seeks to contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between sports labour migration and collective local identification and resistance in an increasingly globalised world.

Problematizing the dominant: the emergence of alternative cultural voices in Fiji rugby

Todays indigenous Fijian culture is often said to be represented by ratuism, religion and rugby. Rugby is widely described as Fijis ‘national’ sport, with a considerable degree of social significance. That rugby is listed alongside two powerful institutions (ratuism and religion) in the life of indigenous Fijians is a clear indication of the central cultural importance of the sport. In this paper, drawing upon the existing literature as well as our own research data, we outline the key aspects of the dominant rugby discourse in relation to ratuism and religion, along with exploring some of rugbys main alternative cultural ‘functions’. Employing a cultural studies approach, our main goal is to interpret and (re)present some of the chief alternative discourses in Fiji rugby and to discuss their role in the formation of dominant and emergent cultural practices.

Collective identity and contested allegiance: a case of migrant professional Fijian rugby players

Rugby is widely regarded as Fijis ‘national’ sport and Fijian athletes are a prominent global presence in professional rugby today. Despite such prominence of Fijian athletes in professional rugby and the social, economic and symbolic significance of the sport in Fiji, there is a near absence of academic research on Fijian rugby migration. As Fiji has been deeply implicated in the interests and discourses of colonialism, ethno-nationalism and masculinity, the aim of this study is to explore professional rugby migration and international competitions as a context for collective identification by focusing on the interview-generated voices of rugby migrants as well as popular media discourses. In doing so, we aim to provide an insight into the multiple dimensions of sport labour migration from the point of view of a developing society that supplies sport labour across the globe. Our analysis will highlight the complex and contested nature of rugby migration as it is experienced and viewed by emigrant players and the Fiji public with a specific focus on the tension between core and periphery dimensions which surfaces at times of international competition such as the Rugby World Cup.

Playing on the global periphery: Social scientific explorations of rugby in the Pacific Islands

In this prologue, we will briefly revisit some of the main research findings that have emerged from our collaborative work on Fiji rugby, as well as reflecting on some of the recommendations derived from our empirical investigation. We discuss issues in relation to national identity and migrations, post-rugby career-related retirement issues and alternative emerging cultural practices that challenge the dominant discourse around Fiji rugby. We then turn our attention to the content of this special issue and briefly introduce the articles included, with the main recommendation that there is a growing need to explore absent and emerging voices and cultural practices in regard to sport-related migration in, from and to the Pacific Islands.

Women, Sport and Exercise in the Asia-Pacific Region: Domination, Resistance, Accommodation

This is the first book to focus on women, sport and exercise in the Asia-Pacific region. Presenting a diverse range of empirical case studies, from women’s boxing in India and women’s rugby in Fiji to women’s soccer in North Korea and Japan, the book uses sport as a lens to examine the historical, socio-cultural and political specificities of non-western and post-colonial societies. It also explores the complex ways in which non-western women resist as well as accommodate sport and exercise-related socio-cultural oppression, helping us to better understand the nexus of sport, exercise, gender, sexuality and power.

Women, soccer and transnational migration: state of art, history and current patterns

This edited volume makes a welcome contribution to the existing literature in a variety of fields including women’s soccer, sports labour migration and sport and globalization. Whilst an extensive ...

Exploring the complexities of community attitudes towards women’s rugby: Multiplicity, continuity and change in Fiji’s hegemonic rugby discourse:

Negative societal pressures against women’s participation in traditionally male-dominated sports like rugby are widely acknowledged, but little empirical research has investigated community attitudes associated with such participation, especially in non-Western contexts. This article presents exploratory insights into community attitudes towards women’s rugby in Fiji with a focus on athletic young women, who do not play rugby but are physically active, and their ‘gatekeepers’ or those in positions of influence over athletic young women’s sport-related decision-making. Based on a questionnaire survey (n = 160) and focus groups, the article identifies significant diversity, possible change, and persisting disapproval in community perceptions of women’s participation in rugby. From these findings, the article also draws some insights into the changing dynamics of women’s rugby as a site of hegemonic struggle.

Double-trouble: Negotiating gender and sexuality in post-colonial women’s rugby in Fiji

Although women’s exclusion in sport has attracted significant attention in the western context, similar issues in relation to post-colonial societies have remained in the margins of the sociology of sport. By analysing primary, interview-based evidence, in this article we explore the challenges female rugby players face regarding gender and sexuality in Fiji: a male dominated post-colonial society. In particular, we focus on participants’ resistance to dominant cultural practices and ways in which they (re)negotiate gender norms and sexuality in a double-bind struggle against both traditional and sporting male hegemonies. We argue that the case of Fijian women rugby players illustrates an interplay between a multiplicity of power relations in sport in a post-colonial society and the resilience with which the athletes negotiate and respond to them, as well as the dynamic nature and the transformative potential of their everyday practices.

A national pride or a colonial construct? Touristic representation and the politics of Fijian identity construction

Identity research in the Pacific region has been dominated in the past by discussions of reconstruction and mobilisation of symbols of cultural tradition as a medium of anti-colonial resistance and nationalism. The present article proposes to widen the scope of this literature by exploring mass tourism as a contested field of collective identification. It outlines the historical making of the colonial and post-colonial imagery of indigenous Fijians and its subsequent reification and essentialisation in the context of twentieth-century mass tourism. It further highlights the implication of this process in colonial, anti-colonial and post-independence national politics, in which indigenous Fijians have been variously located: the imagery has been claimed by Western colonialism, transnational corporate capitalism, ethno-nationalism, and counter-hegemony. The article illustrates that collective identity construction is not political in a uni-dimensional manner but constitutes a dynamic arena of ongoing ‘cultural battle’ where multiple power relations unfold simultaneously.