Queering a community sports club in Australia: A case study of gender inclusion

Community sporting clubs have traditionally been shaped by hegemonic masculine norms. This paper presents a case study exploration of an independent regional women and gender diverse Australian football club. Interviews, observations, policy and online analysis of the club showed how they created an equitable and inclusive community sports club underpinned by a Do-It-Yourself ethos. Club founders queered hegemonic norms and traditions associated with existing football clubs by developing inclusive structures, policies, practices and processes. The club were dedicated to centring the voices of women and gender diverse community members; and women and gender diverse community members who experience intersectional forms of discrimination. Despite developing an equitable queer subculture, the traditionally masculine governing structures and systems they exist within provided two impediments to participation: access and inclusion to local leagues and facilities. The case study will show how DIY sporting clubs can provide inclusive alternatives to sporting norms, but the gender inclusion they are able to foster remains at a micro level unable to transform the hegemonic, heterosexist sport structures and practices they exist within.