Indigenous women and gender diverse people in Australian Rules Football

Asha Steer is a Barkandji First nations woman from Australia currently undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne.

Asha will present an introduction to Australian Indigenous studies and the role of sport in Australian Indigenous communities pre- and post-invasion, before presenting findings from her own research regarding contemporary experiences of Indigenous women and gender diverse people in Australian Rules Football in Melbourne.

As a member of the community she is researching, Asha speaks from her own experiences in various sports and employs an Indigenous research methodology of relationality and co-creation of knowledge through yarning with participants. The project findings emphasise anti-deficit discourse and are centred on embodiment and connection to Country, culture and gender identity through sport, despite ongoing systemic racism.