Playing colonial: cowgirls, cowboys, and indians in Australia and North America
Date
2001
Authors
McGrath, Ann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Abstract
Growing up during the 1960s in Brisbane, the subtropical capital city of Queensland, Australia, "cowboys and indians" was simply what we played with the neighborhood kids. Although some found it too rough for their liking, few questioned its appropriateness as a children's game. Between the ages of three and ten, boys and many girls were keen to play. The game involved a lot of chasing, hiding, and pretend killing and dying. In our backyard and in the cool shade under our grandparent's house, we played with plastic bows and arrows and cap guns with a sharp bang and a peppery "gunpowder" smell. Not always enamored of the boyish aggression, I recall inventing domestic diversions such as "frontier woman gives birth," which gave me the opportunity to recline upon the grandest squatter's chair. Unfortunately, only the youngest neighborhood boy agreed to cooperate, and he only the once.
Description
Keywords
Fantasy games -- Social aspects -- Australia ., Nationalism -- Australia, Fantasy games -- Social aspects -- United States, Nationalism -- United States
Citation
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Source
Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History
Type
Journal article