Associate Professor Stephen Wearing
University of Technology, Sydney
Masculinity, Ethnicity and “Power Recreation” on the Georges River
The application of high energy petroleum-fuelled recreation craft on urban and rural rivers has created very different patterns of recreation among Australians than was the case 50 or even 30 years ago.
‘Power recreation’ is a new phenomenon which has substantial environmental impacts, such as massive bank erosion and pollution of river water from fuel leakages, exhaust and toxic craft coatings, quite apart from the disruption caused by noise pollution on and in the water and traffic congestion at boat launching sites. Yet perhaps its least observed effects have been to shift the gendered and racialised nature of river recreation. The class, racial and gendered dimensions of power water sport will be examined here with reference to the case study of the Georges River as it flows through the Georges River National Park around Picnic Point and Lugarno in south western Sydney. The craft used range from highly capitalized water skiing vessels, most often in the hands of Anglo or long established migrant families, to inexpensive jet skis, often owned by young men from newly immigrant communities, who are eager for both the thrills of high speed rides and the collective excitement involved in large groups of friends launching and taking turns with one or a small number of craft. Rising class, racial and gendered anxieties are often expressed in the language of environmental concerns.
Utilising interviews with members of the Arabic speaking, Vietnamese and Anglo communities, media debates and participant observation, this paper will review the key dimensions of this case study, which suggests a predominantly masculine culture that emphasises freedom, spontaneity, challenge, risk-taking and pleasure. We argue that this reflects some shifts in relations of power between men and women during outdoor recreational activities which have further impacts on the gender interactions among immigrant cultures and on intercultural relations in suburban areas. We suggest the implications for other urban sites of debate over power water recreation like the Penrith River and the Greater Western Sydney parklands.
Email: stephen.wearing@uts.edu.au