Sport NZ Sport and Recreation Knowledge Library: New Zealand-based sport and recreation research

Brown bodies, racialisation and physical education Research Completed

Title

Brown bodies, racialisation and physical education

Lead Author

Katie Fitzpatrick

Organisation(s)

University of Auckland

Publication Year

2011

Publisher

Routledge

Contacts

Katie Fitzpatrick

email: k.fitzpatrick@auckland.ac.nz

Abstract

This article explores how school physical education (PE) can both reinforce stereotyped notions of the brown body as inherently physical while also allowing young people to gain educational success. Drawing on a critical ethnographic study of Māori and Pasifika (Pacific Island) youth in PE in New Zealand, the article explores how the academic status of PE, and its alignment with sport, positions the brown bodies of these youth in problematic and stereotypical ways. While PE may reinforce racialised stereotypes, it is also a space of recognition and achievement for youth. Bourdieu’s notions of capital, field and habitus provide insight into how such contradictions potentially offer social transformation while simultaneously reproducing social status.

Keywords:

Physical education; Racial stereotypes

How to access

Areas of Focus

Population Groups

Maori, Pacific, Young People

Settings (location)

Schools