The Club, by David Williamson, offers various portrayals of Australian men of different generations. In this play, the majority of the characters, except Ted, are either currently or previously were football players, reinforcing the dominant view in society of men as physical rather than intellectual. Within The Club there are many examples of how we typically view Australian men. These include anti-authoritarian, against women and against change, however it is the latter two characteristics which are explored in most depth within The Club. Of these facets of Australian male identity, we are positioned to accept the characters' dismissive and degrading attitudes towards women as these behaviours have been naturalised due the dominant ideas regarding gender in Australian culture, in that men are economically and politically superior. While we are positioned to accept that Australian males can be misogynistic, we resist the stereotype that Australian men are against change, as many of the men in The Club are willing to forfeit tradition in order to win.
Former Club House Hotel, Narrabri, NSW.
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Club 33: Main HallFrom this, we can see how the exploration of these two characteristics within The Club, are not meant to be purely accepted or rejected, but reflected on with regards to our own cultural upbringing.
The Club depicts an all male society which has little need for women, except as sex objects. The fact that we have no female characters, and therefore no female perspective on the issues contained within the play, automatically positions us to accept the behaviours of the men towards women. Although the typical identity of an Australian male may be against women, as displayed in Ted and Jock, this is a little outdated as Geoff, who is younger than the rest of them, with a university education, shows a little more respect to women but still has a long way to...