Reinforcing Gender Traditions: Fijian Teachers’ Impact on Indo-Fijian Girls’ Sports

AUTHOR(S)
Rohini Balram
Sport

This chapter explores how iTaukei sports and PE teachers, influenced by racism, ethnocentrism, and cultural heritage, shape the sporting experiences of Indo-Fijian girls in high schools, often leading to their social exclusion. These biases not only limit the girls’ immediate participation but also discourage lifelong engagement with sports. Visual methods and ABRMs offer valuable insights into these young women’s experiences by engaging their senses and emotions. Through free verse poetry, for example, Indo-Fijian girls express feelings of exclusion—being denied opportunities in certain sports, labelled ‘butterfingers,’ or consistently placed on the reserve bench. Applying this methodology within the Oceania sporting context has provided a deeper exploration of young Indo-Fijian women’s sporting realities. The chapter presents their voices through a creative nonfiction piece, highlighting the gendered, racial, and sociocultural factors shaping their sporting experiences. The chapter reveals the role of Indo-Fijian teachers being gatekeepers and reinforcing traditional gender norms that restrict girls’ freedom and participation in sports. By emphasising the cultural inappropriateness of sports and friendships with boys, these teachers instil messages that many girls internalise, further reducing their participation. Additionally, this chapter reveals how Fijian schools and PE programmes prioritise iTaukei interests, reinforcing racialised and gendered approaches to sports and PE lessons. Dominant team sports such as rugby, soccer, and netball overshadow other opportunities, while a focus on competition excludes those not selected for school teams, further marginalising Indo-Fijian girls and limiting their access to meaningful sports and physical activity participation.

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Research Type(s)
Book Chapter
September 18, 2025
Published in
2025
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