Stories from Down Under: Rediscovering the Status of Aboriginal Women in Tara Shannon's “Always Told I was a White Girl"

Abstract

For Australian Aboriginals, memory has a political and cultural significance different from both the settlers and immigrants. Aboriginal communities were highly developed and their communal life was grounded in rich tribal mythology tied to their land. Losing their land was the equivalent of losing their own culture. Many settlers believed that the Aboriginals were an inferior race and, therefore, doomed.  One place where Aboriginals found sensitivity to their history and recognition of injustices done to them was in Australian fiction. Later, Aboriginals themselves started telling their own stories. Aboriginal writers are reclaiming the place that is theirs by birth and talent. Australian Aboriginal women writers started writing against gender issues and the dual discrimination they faced. They are thrice discriminated – from the settler's society, from within the Aboriginal Community due to their status as Aboriginal women and the racial discrimination they faced from the settlers. Racism was also a significant factor for discrimination - either because of the dark complexion of the Aborigines or of the unusual fair complexion they possessed. This paper tries to study Tara Shannon's poem “Always Told I was a White Girl”, in which the poet talks about the racism she faced from the settlers because her skin tone was white.

Keywords: Aboriginal women poetry, Tara Shannon, Misogynist Australian tradition, Triple Discrimination, Aborigines

Introduction

Contemporary Australia is a nation formed by colonization and immigration. It is a stage for their disinheritance, displacement and dispossession of both indigenous and immigrant people. Independence has provided the opportunity for self - determination in secular countries. However, Australian indigenous people remain culturally colonised and subordinate.

The first Australians were Aboriginals, the indigenous people, who were later displaced and exploited by the later settlers who started mastering the “Land Down Under”. For them memory has a political and cultural significance different from both of settlers and immigrants. Aboriginal communities were highly developed and their  communal life was grounded in rich tribal mythology tied to their land. Losing their land was the equivalent of losing their own culture. Many settlers believed that only the strongest races were programmed to survive. They decided that the Aboriginals were an inferior race and, therefore, doomed.

In their writing, the settlers painted the picture of Aboriginals with the feelings of contempt, disgust and horror. A writer in the Hobart Town Gazette in 1825 refer to the wild and gothic mind set, savages cradled in wilderness amidst the horrors of houseless and garnerless vagrancy. One place where Aboriginals found sensitivity to their history and recognition of injustices done to them was in Australian fiction. But as the years changed the Aboriginal writers also came to the forefront.  Later, Aboriginals themselves started telling their own stories. Aboriginals themselves started telling their own stories. Aboriginal writers are reclaiming the place that is there is by birth and talent. Aboriginal people started to define aboriginality through their writings.

Australian feminist scholars see a strong misogynist tradition in Australian society, art and literature. Thus, Aboriginal women writers started writing against gender issues and the Triple discrimination they faced. They are thrice discriminated - from the settler's society, from within the aboriginal Community due to their status as Aboriginal women and the racial discrimination they faced from the settlers.

“Always Told I was a White Girl”

Many works by Aboriginal women writers in Australia are reactions to the roles and positions of women. They explored women's lives and functions in contemporary society through their literary pieces. Racism was also a significant factor for discrimination - either because of the dark complexion of the Aborigines or of the unusual fair complexion they possessed. In Tara Shannon's poem “Always Told I was a White Girl”, the poet talks about the racism she faced from the settlers because her skin tone was white.

Tara Shannon is an Australian Indigenous poet born in New South Wales. She focuses her poetry in Aboriginal culture. “Always Told I was a White Girl” is her 2020 poem which expressed the discomfort and feeling of discrimination that the poet has felt all her life because of her white skin tone. She struggled with this issue of being discriminated all her life. As a young child up to an adult she was always called a white girl because of the tone of her skin. She tries to teach all of Australia a lesson through her poem.

What makes her poem so powerful and significant is that she addresses an issue that is all around the world and not just Australia that is, racism. “When is all the racism and discrimination all going to end I wonder.” (Shannon, line 15). She wants everyone to know that just because someone's skin is of a certain tone, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a different culture or they don’t inherit the Aboriginal culture inside them. Rhetorical questions are used to make the reader think about what the poet is asking. “Who are you to say I’m not Aboriginal? / Because the colour of my skin is white?” (Shannon, lines 6-7). “Did your mother not tell you, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?” (Shannon, line 12).

She is pointing out that even though her skin tones different she is still Aboriginal in blood. “I’ve got black through my blood and through every inch of my veins.” (Shannon, line 11). She wants people to know that it’s route to redefine someone by their skin tone. “Constantly criticised on my Appearance.” (Shannon, line 4). Both coloured as well as white skin tone is a problem for the settlers. It is clear that the real problem is not the skin tone but them being an Aboriginal especially Aboriginal women. Having white skin tone, they doubts the identity of the poet. But the settlers forget about the identity of themselves, - they being settlers who colonised and east trying to control natives of the land down under, the Aboriginals.

 The poet address is not only her problem but of her community to that is Wadijuri. “On behalf of my mob and community, / this is for you, / Wadijuri” (Shannon, lines 21-24).She calls for a change in the attitude of the Australians. She hopes that the new generation shouldn’t be like this. “Educate your kids, Australia, get them to change their behaviour.” (Shannon, line 8).

Even in the 21^st century when there is development and technological innovations human nature still remains the same. Colour consciousness is still in human. Even though human race seems progressive they are narrow minded. So this work by Tara Shannon is a call for change by advocating the ethnic community.

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Co-Author: Aiswarya A.S

Paper 1st presented in the International Webinar on Stories from Down Under: Gender Discourses in Australia conducted by Centre for Australian Studies, Institute of English, University of Kerala in 2022

References

Edelson, Phyllis Fahrie. Australian Literature: An Anthology of Writing from Land Down Under. Ballantine Books, 1993.

Ferguson, Susan J. Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Class: Dimensions of Inequality. Sage Publications, Inc., 2013.

Shannon, Tara. “Always Told I Was a White Girl.” Edited by Jens Korff, Creative Spirits, 12 Aug. 2020, https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/arts/poems/always-told-i-was-a-white-girl.